


Substantialized Errors - Discontinued

by CaptainInvalid



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Errortale (Undertale), Assault, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Attempted Sexual Assault, Gen, Inktale Sans (Undertale), Mugging, Other, Real Life, Short Chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2019-11-06 05:43:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 17
Words: 24,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17933939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainInvalid/pseuds/CaptainInvalid
Summary: When the Destroyer of Universes grows tired of the seemingly endless creation of AUs, he decides that he needs to directly destroy creators in an attempt to stem the flow. His efforts backfire and he finds himself in a universe with no magic... our universe.This work has been discontinued. I am sorry for the disappointment to any fans of this work.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a fun story I began a few days ago that I'll be working on alongside Equilibrium. This won't be updated as regularly. Also, I need to note that this will seem better written than my other story, and there's a reason for that... I was working on the first few Equilibrium chapters during a heavy hit of depression and it heavily affected my quality of work. After the first five or so parts... I hope it gets better. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

The smoldering remains of the town lay still and silent beneath his watchful gaze, even the breeze hardly daring to stir the dust. Sweat tainted red in color dripped down his forehead and he’d even removed his sweatshirt to cool himself down… ignoring the fact that as a skeleton, he really shouldn’t have gotten overly warm at all.  
That was the least of his worries though as, seeing nothing moving, he jumped down out of the tree he’d been observing from, smoothly landing on the snowy ground below the branches, ducking into a roll from which he sprang up quickly. A cold chuckle escaped him and he grinned.  
“That was a good landing if I do say so myself,” he said to himself, his voice as distorted as his glitching body was. He made his way into the town and thoroughly examined it for any signs of life, finding none save for a single quivering monster that he quickly dispatched with a well-aimed string to the SOUL, hearing a satisfying crack and a dying gasp. Ah, there was nothing quite as enjoyable as destroying any pathetic glitches that dared to clog up the Multiverse.  
… Though, thinking about it, more and more filthy anomalies had been springing up and he was beginning to have difficulties keeping up. It was like that mythical dragon he’d seen in one universe. Cut off one head and two more sprang up with it. Though, in the case of the Multiverse, it seemed more like three or four came into being for every universe he managed to destroy.  
It was beginning to wear him down and he wasn’t happy with that. His job was to take out the trash, but the trash was overflowing and only growing worse. How was he supposed to do his job properly if he couldn’t keep up? There had to be something… anything he could do to make his job easier.  
“What do you think?” the skeleton said aloud, a faraway look in his eyes as if he were communicating with someone… and in his mind, he was. The voices were his constant companions and he thought of them as real as anyone else. And anyone who tried to tell him otherwise? Well, they were just a glitch he had the honor of destroying.  
But the voices were strangely silent at the moment. Well, those voices, at least. There were others, but they weren’t nearly as pleasant and usually just screamed relentlessly in his mind. His friendly voices were the ones that were currently silent. Hm… Guess he’d need to find a way by himself. That was fine with him. Sometimes it was easier to work when they weren’t constantly bombarding him with questions.  
With a sigh, he pulled on his jacket once more and snapped his fingers, drawing up a glitching red-and-black portal beside him. This universe was dead, so he was going to move onto his next task now: finding a solution to his literally growing problem… pun intended.  
Through the portal, he entered a vast white expanse that most would consider a place to avoid, but he considered it home. Blue strings littered the space above him and he shot a few up into the air, grasping onto them and hauling himself up onto the spiderweb-like strings he’d put in place. He crouched on top of them, sandals curling around the strings, and frowned thoughtfully. Maybe this mess was all the squid’s fault… he should pay a visit to that pathetic “Doodlesphere” he had, see if he was the cause.  
Before he left, he grabbed a quick snack, munching on a chocolate bar as he considered his course of action. Once he was finished, he stood up, opened a new portal, and walked through it.

~~~

To his utter relief, the so-called Doodlesphere was empty, though he assumed the squid had a way to alert him if someone entered the space. It was calm and quiet, just the way that he liked it, but one thing bothered him: the endless amounts of paper hung neatly up. These were the universes, all the universes that made up their Multiverse, and it made him sick just to see them. So many useless, pathetic glitches and it only reminded him of his thankless job.  
“The squid needs to stop hoarding,” he muttered to himself as he began to examine the list of universes sprawled around him. Nothing seemed out of place beyond the sheer number of papers that crowded the Doodlesphere. Had there always been so many? It was like he hadn’t even made a dent… That was seriously annoying.  
None of the papers particularly stood out… save for one. It seemed just like all the others, neatly hung up, and for a long moment, he couldn’t place his finger on what was wrong with it. It then struck him that the name listed on the paper was off. It was written in the squid’s handwriting, unlike the others, and the paper beneath the word was slightly different than the rest. He wouldn’t have noticed if he wasn’t looking so closely.  
Grabbing the paper, he failed to notice the slight glitches that ran through it as he prodded at the name, scratching at the edge where the paper changed, and a grin crept up onto his face as the corner of it came up. He peeled away the name and let the faux name flutter away as he looked at the true name.  
“Creatortale.”  
“Oh… That’s what you were trying to hide, squid,” he practically purred as his grin widened further. “An AU just for the creators, huh? You thought you could hide it from me… but I’m not as stupid as you think.”  
He gripped the paper in both hands and went to tear it in half just to watch the glitches shoot across the paper and it phased through his fingers, unharmed. His triumphant grin slipped slightly and he tried it again, just for it to phase through his fingers once more. What the hell…? It shouldn’t be acting like that…  
Strings whirled up around him and he wrapped them around the paper and tried to use those to destroy it instead, but the paper resisted. His grin was now completely gone and he was beginning to grow irritated. He summoned a large, animalistic black skull beside him, the jaws filling with magic, and blasted it at the paper: it remained unscathed and was glitching more than ever.  
“HOW THE FUCK DO I DESTROY IT!?” he yelled angrily, throwing the paper away from him and watching it float in place passively, glitches faded. Taunting him almost, it seemed.  
No matter what he tried… or how he tried it… the paper wouldn’t let him destroy it. It eventually wouldn’t even let him touch it, glitching away from his fingers, as if it could tell he was a threat. He was now thoroughly angered and glared at it, his own glitches worse than usual in his anger. This… was by far the most irritating thing he’d ever dealt with, and that was in comparison to the squid.  
And the glitches… those bothered him the most. He’d never seen anything like it in one of the stupid pieces of paper and the fact that it reacted the way it did just seemed unnatural. What a stupid, annoying anomaly it was…  
But if he couldn’t destroy it this way, maybe he could destroy it from the inside out. Watching the paper closely as if it might be able to attack him if he didn’t pay attention. He snapped his fingers once more and threw open another of his glitched portals.  
He instantly regretted it as a wave of weakness and nausea rolled over him. The portal was erratically glitching and the paper… the paper was glitching even more so. But he didn’t have time to ponder it as his vision wavered and then went black.


	2. Chapter 2

An excited squeal you hadn’t thought you were capable of suddenly pierced the air as you slid open the small door of your mailbox and caught sight of the small brown package that was inside. Your package had finally come! With a wide grin stretching across your face, you grabbed ahold of it and the other mail, quick to dash back into your home, hardly able to contain your excitement.  
Inside, you threw yourself onto your small loveseat and tossed the envelopes onto the armrest, your attention devoted almost entirely to the package that you kept in-hand. You tore into it as fast as you could without completely ravaging it and beamed down at your new prized possessions: a set of stickers, buttons, and even two miniature dakimakuras you’d bought online. Finally, you had more to add to your collection wall.  
You were a nerd and you weren’t afraid to admit to it. Most of your t-shirts depicted some sort of game, movie, or book you enjoyed and, as previously mentioned, you had a collection wall for your knick-knacks and posters. The dominating merchandise were of your favorite video games: Pokémon, Brave Frontier, and Undertale. Though that wasn’t all you had. You proudly displayed a poster for Star Wars and had a cute Smaug plush up on your shelf.  
Alas, the newest shipment you’d received was more Undertale merchandise, but at least you were diverse. You went to your room and climbed up onto your bed so you could better reach the section of your wall that you reserved specifically for Undertale. With more care than you usually showed, you hung up the dakimakuras next to their counterparts along a small rack, smiling happily. You had just about all the characters that you wanted, ranging from canon characters to fandom characters alike. The two new ones featured Grillby and Error!Sans.  
Next, you carefully pinned your new buttons to the small homemade stand you’d made. It was cheap to make, you only had needed cardboard, cloth to stick the buttons through, and a nice frame you’d made. “Huh, I’m gonna need to make a new one,” you muttered, struggling to find space on the board for your new buttons. A sigh of relief escaped you upon finishing, and all you had to do next was put your stickers away safely for later.  
No sooner had you finished with putting the things away and going through the rest of your mail that your stomach grumbled and you patted it affectionately. Much as you would have liked to just dig something out of your fridge and eat it in the safety of your home, you’d promised your mother that you would start going outside more. “It isn’t healthy to spend all your time indoors,” she’d said, and you’d begrudgingly agreed.  
So, you had decided that you’d start going to the local park during lunch some days to get out more and breath fresh air. Your lunch was already packed and you quickly grabbed it, your phone, and your keys before heading out the door. You were thankful your apartment was on the bottom floor and you could get out faster.  
The day really was nice, you had to admit, perfect for a day outside. Spring had warmed the air and the sun was adding a bit of an extra kick, though thankfully clouds would occasionally roll by and cool the air for at least a short while. It was a weekend day and you could see many children out playing and bicyclists occasionally went by. Maybe your mom was right, you did need to get out more.  
You reached the park soon enough and walked into it, taking a deep breath of the clean park air and there was even a hint of flowers from the gardens that decorated the park. Laughter filled the air and you made your way to a nearby playground with several picnic tables surrounding it. You chose the cleanest one you could find and sat down, taking out a sandwich and taking a huge bite immediately.  
Eating in relative peace, your eyes roamed around the park just like your mind wandered to various thoughts. Seeing as how this trip to the park was because of her, you thought first of your mom, who lived states away. You still occasionally felt bad for moving so far from her and your childhood town, but it had grown stagnant and you itched for something new. So, here you were, in a small apartment you’d lived in for about six months, still getting to know your new community.  
You were lucky to have gotten a good online job, too, as a web designer with a popular company. Sure, it could have paid better, but it was more than most people your age made. You rather enjoyed it, too, utilizing your creativity and it even gave you an excuse to use the internet more. There were flexible hours, too, which was a plus.  
All in all, your life was fairly decent. Maybe it was lonely at times, but you pushed past it and carried on as best you could. You only had one life, after all, and why were you going to let anything stop you?  
By that time, you’d finished your sandwich and were well on your way to finishing a bag of chips, too. Feeling a bit too restless to continue sitting, you gathered up your things and began to take a stroll around the park, following one of the lesser-traveled paths, little tufts of grass poking up between the rocks that set the path. Your chips were soon finished and you stuffed the package into the bag you’d carried your lunch in and took a drink of water, just enjoying the sight around you. You really had needed this, hadn’t you?  
You were soon deep into the park, the sounds of laughter and cars faded far into the background. It was just you, the sound of the wind rustling through the trees and- and… You paused and swiveled your head around as your ears caught a faint sound that you didn’t recognize at first. What was that? It sound like someone was in pain, somewhere off the path to your right.  
Warily, a hand going to the small pocket knife that you usually carried for protection, you stepped off the path and began making your way through the trees towards where the sound was coming from. You were careful to make as little noise as possible, numerous possibilities running through your mind. Had a child wandered off and gotten hurt? Was someone being attacked? What was going on?  
The pained moans brought you to a small grove of trees with low-hanging leaves and you took the knife out, flipping it open just to be safe. The sounds faded and you were suddenly aware that it was absolutely silent. You couldn’t even hear birds.  
Heart pounding erratically, you brushed the branches out of your way and peered through into the center of the tiny grove, catching sight of a shape curled on the ground. Well, at least someone wasn’t currently being attacked.  
“Hello?” you softly called, pushing your way into the clearing and going to the shape, careful not to get too close in case you were attacked. “Are… Are you alright? Are you hurt?”  
The figure said nothing and you circled around to try and get a look at their face, as their back had been turned towards you. Though their face was mostly hidden by the hood of the jacket they wore, you could see just clearly enough… and the wind was knocked from your lungs out of shock.  
You recognized that face. You’d literally just hung up a dakimakura with this exact person’s face on it. But… there was no way. It was all just a video game, wasn’t it? It couldn’t be real…  
The proof was right in front of you. A character from your favorite video game was laying right there in front of you, as if you were in some sort of bizarre fever dream. You began to feel light-headed and you found yourself suddenly swaying, collapsing into a dead faint moments later.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the support already, even with just two parts. ^-^ I'm really enjoying writing this and I just couldn't hold off adding the next part. I'm sorry if these chapters are short, I try not to make them so small, it just happens... heh. Hope you enjoy, anyway, though!

“Hello?” a voice said from behind him, a mixture of concern and wariness embedded in the tone. He didn't dare to move, or perhaps he couldn't, a sharp and unexplainable pain radiating throughout his body that seemed to prevent movement. Ugh… What the hell had even happened? He last recalled attempting to destroy that universe the squid had tried hiding from him… then there was nausea followed by blackness.  
That was certainly an issue… and where the hell was he now? He heard trees rustling, suggesting he was in a universe on the surface… and he also heard footsteps from whoever had found him. Another wave of pain roiled through him and he had to stifle a moan. Whatever was going on hurt, but he wanted to be alone more than he wanted help.  
Annoyance filled him as the person who'd approached him stepped into view. Oh, it just had to be a human, didn't it? There was a concerned look on their face, but it shifted quickly into utter shock and disbelief, and he watched the human crumple to the ground moments later.  
“Tch… Dumb human,” he muttered, wincing as the pain intensified once more before it began to fade away. Cautiously, he sat up, his arms wrapped around his body feebly as he waited for the pain to fade entirely. Once it had, he did a quick check of himself. He seemed fine… though one thing confused him. His glitches, which had been present for a long time, were gone. There weren't even any little Error signs decorating his body.  
He wasn't sure whether to be relieved by that or worried, but in the end, he shrugged it off. The pain was gone and he didn't have any cracks in his body and that was what was important for the moment. Brushing dust from his clothes, he looked around warily. This was definitely the surface of some AU… though which one it was, he didn't know. Could this be the Creatortale universe? If it was, he didn't think he should be in here. Not with how it reacted to him entering it.  
“Stupid universe,” he growled. “Completely ruined my day.” Though there'd be time to rage later, at the moment, he just needed to leave this universe and give himself time to plan and recover from the pain he’d felt. Pushing himself to his feet, he barely gave the unconscious human a glance and just snapped his fingers as he always did when forming a portal.  
Only no portal appeared. His permanent smile turned down at the corners and he concentrated more fully on summoning a portal with no results. What the hell? Why wasn’t it working? An aching suspicion flickered through his mind and he instead attempted to create his customary string attacks… and nothing happened once again.  
This was starting to become worrisome and he growled softly to himself. There was one final test he could try and he looked down at his shirt, attempting to draw out his SOUL from his ribcage. A cold feeling of dread ran through him when he failed to do so, something he didn’t often feel.  
He had no access to his magic. If he couldn’t use his magic… he would be stuck here in this universe. The mismatched lights in his sockets shrank as he thought about it. No, there had to be a way to escape this place… He wasn’t going to be defeated by one of the stupid anomalies he’d devoted his life to obliterating.  
Yet nothing he tried worked and soon enough, he heard the human lying on the ground groaning as they began to wake up. He clenched his hands into fists and turned to face them, staring down at their form with a look of disgust and wariness on his face. The human had clearly seen him and, depending on the type of universe this was, that could be a bad thing. Usually he could just kill the human and be on his way, but there was a dilemma this time around… he had no magic and no way to escape. If he let them go, there was a chance they’d tell others, and he didn’t want to risk being hunted down while so vulnerable.  
If he killed them, though… as much as he wanted to, the more logical part of his mind told him not to. If other humans found them dead, then there’d be a search, and once again he’d be hunted down. The same problem arose if he took the human captive. What could he do?  
It was then that he realized the human’s eyes were open and staring straight at him.

~~~

When you realized that he had noticed you were awake, you felt yourself freezing in place, stiff as your eyes met the small lights hovering within his sockets. A silence stretched between the two of you and you began to ponder your current situation in much the same way you assumed that the skeleton was, the air between you both tense and crackling with energy.  
Knowing what you knew about him, you were quite surprised that you weren’t dead yet. You’d think a psychotic killer much like him would destroy anyone who’d seen him. You weren’t going to overthink the fact that you were alive, though. You were just grateful he’d stayed his hand.  
But how was he even here? It should’ve been impossible, right? This discovery changed just about everything you knew about… well… everything. Doors had been opened that most likely wouldn’t ever be closed again.  
The silence had stretched on long enough that you’d grown uncomfortable enough to want to speak, but he beat you to the punch by suddenly grasping the front of your shirt and hauling you up so that you were struggling to touch your toes to the ground, which was an impressive feat for someone shorter than you.  
When he spoke, his voice reminded you of tires crunching over a gravel path. “If you tell anybody you saw me, I WILL destroy you in the most painful way I know how,” he growled, and the look in his sockets was completely serious.  
Your heart began to pound painfully in your chest as fear settled like a stone in your stomach. You didn’t have any doubts that he’d do exactly what he threatened to do. “I… I won’t,” you said quietly, a tremble in your voice that you couldn’t contain. “H-How… Why are you here…?”  
“I was GOING to destroy this pathetic anomaly, but now I just want out of this glitch,” he muttered before studying you more closely. A questioning look in his eyes. “Do you know about me?”  
Shit… That was a mistake on your part. Though you supposed it wouldn’t hurt to admit you knew about him, but you had to be careful not to let him know about the video game… or all your merchandise that depicted him… that would definitely cause you trouble. Maybe… you could pretend this was just another universe? That wouldn’t end well, you don’t think.  
Hesitantly, you nodded in response to his question, struggling to touch the ground with him still holding you up. “I… Um… I’ve heard about you, yeah,” you mumbled. That wouldn’t hurt much… hopefully.  
Quite suddenly, he dropped you, and you squeaked in pain as you landed heavily on your tailbone, frowning up at him. At least he wasn’t holding you up anymore… “How the fuck do I get out of this stupid universe, then?” he asked. He… couldn’t get out? That surprised you. Then again, you noticed that his infamous glitches weren’t present anywhere… and as far as you knew, magic didn’t exist in your world. What if he couldn’t use his own magic to escape?  
“I… I don’t know,” you admitted. “I’ve never, uh… left my universe. Sorry…” Your thoughts were still absolutely racing but you did your best to try and calm yourself. You really did need to be careful. “Can you not get out?”  
“Obviously I can’t if I needed to ask a dumb glitch like you,” he snapped in response. He set himself to pacing, growling under his breath and staring at his skeletal hands, which you couldn’t stop staring at yourself. “Can you at least tell me what fucking universe this is? Is it Creatortale?”  
Though you were afraid to response, you once again mumbled out, “I don’t know the name of it. No one ever told me before and I can’t learn it alone. I’m sorry I can’t help you more…” Maybe if you kept apologizing, he wouldn’t want to kill you. Though you highly doubted that would work.  
As you had expected from him, he grew angry and glowered down at you, as you hadn’t yet gotten off the ground. “What good are you for, then? I’ll get my answers somewhere else.”  
He turned and began to stalk off through the trees and you scrambled up, alarmed, knowing that he shouldn’t be seen by anyone else. “Hey, don’t go yet,” you pleaded, though he didn’t even bother to slow down. “If you get seen by anyone, you’ll be hunted down. It isn’t safe here.”  
“I’ll take my chances,” he said gruffly as he continued to walk along. He was heading towards the main path and you were worried for his sake: sure, he’d threatened you, but you still couldn’t just watch one of your favorite characters get himself into trouble.  
“This is a small park surrounded by a huge city full of humans,” you said, following after him at a safe distance. “Thousands of humans. It’s broad daylight and you’ll be seen by who knows how many. I-I’ve heard that you're strong, but humans have guns and tanks and scientists that’d love to experiment on you. Don’t be stupid.”  
He slowed to a stop and you stopped as well, watching him, and he growled a few moments later. “I can leave at night, then, you idiot.”  
“The city is busy during the night, as well, you know,” you pointed out. “Look… I know you don’t have a reason to trust me, but I could let you stay at my place for awhile. You could figure out how to leave while staying safe and out of sight of other humans.”  
It was a long few minutes before he turned back around to glare at you darkly. “Why the fuck do you want to help me?” he asked, a suspicious glint in his sockets.  
You hesitated as you quickly tried to think up a believable reason to give, and that hesitance seemed to make up his mind. Snorting, he turned away from you and began to walk, though you were relieved that he wasn’t heading for the path this time.  
“Yeah, no, I’m not falling for that bullshit,” he muttered, and before you could stop him, he was gone, vanishing into the undergrowth.  
Silence stretched across the land around you before birdsong began to tentatively returned and you stared helplessly at the spot he’d been. There was no way he was going to survive… but there wasn’t much you could do. With a defeated sigh, you shuffled out of the woods and out onto the path, your thoughts heavy as you headed home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I began this story without any sort of planning at all and it backfired very... very quickly. The next few updates might not come quickly as I'll be trying to set up a storyline for where I want this to go. This is just a little filler chapter. I'm also going to work on making the chapters longer... I have a bad habit of writing very compactly and it's not the best for story-telling. So, I'm sorry about that. My bad.

He hated this universe more than any other, he'd decided. That damn human had been right when they'd said the park was small: it only took roughly ten minutes for him to walk around the entirety of the wooded area, excluding the busier and more civilized portion of the thing. High fence walls barricaded the park from the surrounding area and he couldn't even utilize his abilities to get past them. His one attempt to climb it had ended with him breathless on the ground from slipping.  
“I hate this place,” he growled quietly, anger glittering in his sockets as he crouched just at the edge of the wooded area, staring out cautiously at the path that threaded through it. Though a more secluded and less-popular path, several humans had already gone past. The first had almost seen him.  
What the hell was he supposed to do? He was helpless, a rat in a cage with no possible way to escape. His fate rested solely on whoever could open the cage and the last thing he wanted was to get that damn squid’s help. But it was looking like he didn't have a choice.  
A heavy and annoyed sigh escaped him and he sat down on the grass, leaning back against a slender tree and staring up sullenly at the sky peaking through the branches of the canopy above. Oh, he couldn't wait to escape. He'd do whatever necessary to destroy this pathetic glitch.  
“At least I have you, Sans Classic,” he muttered, reaching into one of his pockets and pulling out a small hand puppet he'd stuffed into his pocket. Usually, he controlled his puppets with strings, and it was unusual for him to slide it onto his hand… but he didn't really have a choice. “You're the best friend a guy like me could have.”  
He wiggled his fingers to make the puppet move and adjusted himself quickly to manipulating it manually before lifting the head up to look at him. “You're just lucky I forgave you for the Tuesday stunt,” the puppet 'said’ in response sarcastically, the little felt arms crossing.  
“We agreed not to talk about that again,” the skeleton replied flatly, an equally flat look on his face. “Or do I need to put you up next to Abomination #13 when we get out of this anomaly?”  
“I was just saying, buddy, don't put me next to that trash again,” the puppet hastily said, shaking its little head quickly as he wriggled his fingers within it. “Anyway, shouldn’t we be figuring out how to get out of here, anyway?”  
The skeleton frowned and slouched back against the tree, his free hand reaching up to scratch at his skull beneath the hood of his sweatshirt. “You’re right, Sans Classic. Not that I have any idea,” he muttered in response, softly growling in irritation. “This is the worst glitch I’ve ever been in. Can’t even use my fucking magic... ugh…”  
He lifted the puppet up so he could see it better and it asked, “Have you tried asking the voices for help? Maybe they know a way to get out.”  
Huh… that wasn’t something he’d thought of before. He smirked and tilted his head to the side as if he were listening for something, and in a way, he was. The voices were his constant companions and sometimes they could give good advice. Yet… They said nothing. His skull was empty of their constant and sometimes annoying presence. Sure, the screams remained, but the voices… those were gone just like his magic.  
“... I think we’re alone, Classic,” he muttered and it struck him suddenly just how alone he was. It usually didn’t bother him much and he kept himself plenty busy… but right now, he had nothing to occupy his time but himself and the small puppet. He didn’t even have his strings to knit with at the moment.  
The puppet drooped in his hand and he mumbled, “... Alone.”

~~~

The walk back to your house seemed to take longer than it had when you walked to the park. Each step seemed to take an eternity as your thoughts raced through everything that had just occurred. You were still entirely amazed that you were still alive and not lying dead in the park, yet even more amazed that any of it had occurred at all.  
“Unless this is just some bizarre dream still,” you mumbled to yourself, pausing at a crosswalk and instinctively checking to make sure no cars were passing by before you continued. You brought a hand to your forehead to try and see if you had a fever and thought that maybe you were just the slightest bit warm… not that your hand was a good way to measure your internal temperature.  
You shook your head as your thoughts turned to the skeleton himself. He’d acted just how you would have expected him to act, if less murdery, but you still couldn’t help but worry. You knew what humanity was like and if he was seen, it would only be a matter of time before he was either killed or taken by scientists for experimentation.  
By that point, you’d reached your house, and you found yourself coming to a stop in front of the door. Maybe you shouldn’t have just left him back there… indecision flickered through you and you let your head thump against the door with a soft thud. If you’d continued to pester him, you didn’t doubt that he would have killed you.  
Wherever he was now, you didn’t think you would be able to find him again, especially if he managed to escape the park. Whatever you might have been able to accomplish with him was in the past now and left to what if.  
You became aware of the sound of a door opening somewhere to your left and you twisted your head to look toward your neighbor’s house, watching as the kind elderly lady who lived there shuffled out of her home. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Mendoza,” you said to her politely, straightening up so she wouldn’t see you slumped against your door. She was a sweet old woman who often gave you cookies when she was finished baking, nearing her 90th birthday, and she often called on you to help her with various tasks.  
The elderly woman turned in your direction and smiled as cheerfully as she usually did. “Oh, hello, dear,” she said, shutting her door behind her and fumbling with the keys. Her sight wasn’t the best, you’d come to learn. “I thought you were inside around this time. Are you going somewhere?”  
“Oh, I actually just came back from the park,” you said, unlocking your own door and tossing your lunchbox inside before going to her and helping her lock her door. A concerned frown crossed your face. “You usually go for walks there, right?”  
Ms. Mendoza nodded in response and patted your arm affectionately as thanks for the assistance. “The clean air helps me clear my head and I like watching the children playing. Reminds me of when my own children were young.” She sighed in reminiscence and smiled fondly. “My sons used to love that park when they were younger… it’s a very old park, you see, almost as old as the town. Ah, but then they grew up and moved away… neither have any grandchildren yet.”  
She seemed to realize she’d been rambling and she turned to face you again, still smiling softly. “I’m sorry, dear, I didn’t mean to take up so much of your time. You have a nice day now, and maybe later I’ll bake some cookies for you.”  
You smiled, but you were still worried for her sake… what if he was still at the park and the two somehow met? He might’ve let you off free, but he was so unpredictable that you weren’t sure what he could do to anyone else. “Thank you, Mrs. Mendoza. I’d love some more cookies,” you said to her, moving back to your door. “Be careful at the park, okay? I heard on the news that there were some shifty people hanging around on the back trails.” That should suffice as a warning.  
“I’ll be careful, dear, don’t worry,” she said before moving down the main path that led to the street. You watched her for a moment, worry shining in your eyes, before you sighed and turned to your door.  
Everything would be fine… right?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya everybody! Chapter four, finally done! This one is longer than the others, thankfully, and I hope you enjoy. I'm sorry if there's mistakes, though. I'm sick and didn't bother to edit it.

A large drop of rain splashed on his forehead and he woke with a start, bolting up off the ground with a wary look on his face, the drop of rain sliding down his face. He must’ve fallen asleep while sitting against the tree and, judging by the grayness of the sky, he’d slept through the night.  
His spine felt stiff after sleeping on the cold, unyielding ground and he groaned softly, stretching it out and drawing up his hood to protect his skull from the rain. The black fabric was already damp and he sighed. This wasn’t going to be a good day for him, either.  
Picking up the puppet from where it had fallen on the ground, he brushed dirt off the felt and shoved it back into his pocket. It was time he got out of this damn park and find a better place to crash. Careful in his movements, he peered out cautiously at the path, which was currently deserted. Taking the chance, he ran across the gravel path and into the woods on the other side, not wanting to linger in the open. This… was really going to piss him off… he hated feeling so helpless.  
A soft growl escaped him at the thought of being helpless and he clenched his hands into fists, now practically stalking through the undergrowth and shredding any leaf or branch in his path, leaving his hands somewhat scratched up, which was equally irritating. Anger bubbled within him and it was only a matter of time before he snapped, he knew, but he didn’t know how to channel it properly.  
He soon came to the edge of the small wooded area and stared out at the open park warily, keeping his sockets emptied of their lights to lower the chance of being seen. Even if that human had been stupid and suspicious, he knew they had a point when they mentioned scientists and weapons.  
His hood hid his skull from view and he could easily keep his hands in his pockets… there was just one thing that would really give him away… his legs. If he had his magic, it would be a simple matter of knitting himself a pair of longer pants, but now he was stuck. Should he risk it and leave the park anyway? How many humans would really look that closely at him to see his legs?  
Indecision flickered through him and he hesitated a long moment before he stood up straight and left the safety of the trees, making his way across the park as quickly as possible without running or being suspicious. Luckily, with the rain bearing down and slowly picking up in speed, he didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing him: the park was deserted and he was alone. Alone again…  
“No, I still have Sans Classic,” he reminded himself, patting his bulging pocket that held the puppet within. “I’m not alone. Besides, the quiet is nice.” But that feeling of loneliness continued to hound at him just like the rain.  
By the time he reached the main entrance into the park, he was completely soaked and miserable, growling softly as he stopped by the gate and looked out at the street. An occasional car drove past, but beyond that, it was still quiet. He figured it was still a bit early for normal, busy human life, which gave him the chance he needed to get out of the park.  
Yet another car passed and he slipped out onto the sidewalk, choosing a direction at random to walk, moving quickly and yet slowly enough to hopefully avoid suspicion from anyone passing by, if his legs didn’t draw attention first. Luckily no one else was out walking around like he was, and the humans in the cars probably didn’t care at all that there was someone outside.  
He sighed softly and splashed through another puddle, finding no point in trying to keep himself dry. The rain had soaked him though, anyway, so why waste time stepping around puddles? That was his thought process, at least, watching with immense displeasure as the water streamed down his clothes.  
As he dutifully marched onward down the path, he became aware of a pain in the space where a stomach would be and he growled, the dimmed lights in his sockets rolling as irritation rolled over him. Of all the times for him to be hungry, it was when he was trying to escape a stupid human city. What was he supposed to eat, anyway? He’d never attempted to eat human food before and he wasn’t sure if it’d dissolve nicely in his monster body without falling out.  
“I still have a little chocolate left, at least,” he muttered, pulling out a crumpled and wet foil packaging that contained about half a chocolate bar inside. It was chocolate stolen straight out of Underfell and the best chocolate there was, in his own opinion. It was monster food, too, and he knew he’d be able to eat it. Unwrapping the package, he looked down… and frowned. Instead of a solid bar of chocolate, it was a sad, pathetic mush from whatever remained after the magic had leaked from it.  
The skeleton sighed heavily and deflated, his shoulders sagging as he poked at the mushy remains. This was just pathetic. “Fucking magicless glitch,” he muttered, forcing himself to swallow the disgusting mess, a shudder going down his spine. It tasted as bad as it looked, too. Though thankfully it didn’t just fall through his body. It wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy his hunger, but it was better than nothing.  
He crumpled up the packaging and carelessly dropped it on the ground as he continued to trudge onwards. The street was starting to become more active and he made the decision to turn down a side path that was coming up, one that was blocked off from the main road with large concrete barriers. These, at least, were easier to climb and he easily jumped over them and turned down the path.  
It was empty at the moment save for a bird that was pecking at the ground, but it soon flew off as he approached. That was all fine and well for him. The less that he was seen, the better it was. Another sigh escaped him as he walked along, glancing at the tall fences that marked out the backyards of the homes that were around. He couldn’t imagine being so confined… it would drive him mad. Well. More so than he already was, at least. And yet, in a way, he was confined. Trapped in this universe. It was… really starting to bo͞t̡h̛e̕r him… and it hadn’t even been a full 24 hours.  
Kicking at a rock, he watched it bounce across the ground, hitting an oddly-shaped lump that was sleeping near a fence. He was surprised to hear a yelp from the lump and a large, brutish-looking dog got up, whipping around to face him.  
“Are you fucking kidding me?” he growled, watching the dog carefully. It was tense, covered in dark brown and matted fur that was marred by long scratches, a street dog accustomed to fighting and winning. And the skeleton was a large chew toy just ripe for the taking, not even having any magic to defend himself with.  
This was just not his week.

~~~

Waking to your alarm was oddly one of the strangest things you’d ever done, you thought as you sat up in your bed and fumbled for the dismissal button. Though it had been foolish on your part, you’d just assumed that everything would be different after your little meeting, and yet you were here, waking up perfectly normally.  
“I hope he’s alright,” you mumbled as you slid from your bed and shuffled off into the bathroom for your usual morning routine. Your thoughts, as they’d been the night before, were focused solely on the skeleton you’d been fortunate to meet. Or was it unfortunate? Or maybe you really had imagined the entire thing.  
You stared at the mirror for a long moment, a bit of toothpaste gathered at the corner of your mouth from brushing your teeth. A soft sigh escaped your lips as you tried to order your thoughts a bit better, though that didn’t work out so well for you. Anyone in your situation was bound to have the same problem.  
Wiping at the toothpaste, you sighed again and left the bathroom to get something simple to eat for breakfast. Maybe you'd go back to the park today and see if you couldn't find him. Maybe offer him lunch… did he even need to eat? That was something that was debated amongst the community, you knew. You'd just have to pack enough for him and find out.  
After eating lunch, you hopped right onto your computer to get started on work, wanting to leave enough of the day for your endeavors outside. After having a weekend off from your work, you had a lot to do, and your fingers flew across the keyboard as you checked the coding you'd set in place. It all seemed fine and well save for one line that seemed to have been incorrectly input by the weekend crew. It was an easy fix and your sent your boss a quick email regarding the issue before getting back to work.

~~~

The hours melted away and you stood up, stretching luxuriously, glad that you'd gotten your work for the day finished. It was right around 2:00 pm, a bit late for lunch, but you'd make it work.  
You made yourself and your possible lunch companion a sandwich each and stuffed in two bags of chips as well as a chocolate bar. Adding two bottles of water, you quickly pulled on your shoes, grabbed your keys, and ran out the door.  
The skies were gray from the rain that had passed through the morning and it was cooler than the previous day and you frowned worriedly. He'd be soaked if he'd been caught out in it… maybe you should've brought a coat or a blanket for him, but you'd already locked the door, and you didn't feel like going back inside.  
“It should be okay,” you said softly to yourself as you began to walk along, dodging the numerous puddles and breathing in the scent of rain. Very few were out at the moment and you weren't too surprised… of course it might've meant he'd managed to leave the park… but you'd see when you got there.  
You didn't realize you passed right by the alley he'd turned down.  
Soon enough, you'd reached the park and you walked in, heading straight for the path you'd taken before. The water was deeper here and covered the gravel path, soaking into your shoes, but you pushed onward.  
“Hello?” you called, peering through the trees in the hopes you'd see him. “Error? It's me, the person from yesterday. I made you some food.” There was no response save for the sweet song of birds overhead… and you'd noticed yesterday that there were no birds when he was around.  
Though you really didn't want to head into the forest on a wet day, you did it nonetheless, pushing through the branches and calling for the skeleton. There was no way you could miss him if he was here: the woods were too small for that. And you soon came to the conclusion that he was gone.  
You were wet and scratched from thorns and a heavy sigh escaped you as you made your way out of the forest. He was gone. At least you'd tried to help him. Whoever he was, you hoped he'd be alright. Even if he was a psychotic character… you couldn't help but worry. Such was the life of a nerd like you.  
Defeated, you made your way home once again, not knowing just how close he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a random thing here, but if you'd like to check out my Tumblr page, I'll put up the link for it here.  
> Tumblr: https://captaininvalid.tumblr.com/


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everybody! First and foremost, I'm sorry how long this took to come out. My birthday was a few weeks ago, and I got busy around then, aaaand then I got sick. Haha, fun times, right! But I'm back with another chapter. This... is short, I'll admit, and not much. I could've done a lot better, but hey, you do what you gotta do, right? No reader this chapter, just some glitchy (not so glitchy in this) skeleton fun. Hope you enjoy!

Pain radiated throughout his entire body and he couldn’t help but groan as he shifted within the cover of the bush he’d dragged himself into. It was scratchy and pulled at his clothes, and the ground beneath it wasn’t at all comfortable, but it had been the only place he could reach quickly.

The fight with the feral dog had been a vicious one that was only made more desperate by how vulnerable he was without his magic. Both parties had suffered from injuries, though the skeleton admittedly had come out worse: scratches and bite marks littered his bones and his left arm made awful clicking noises whenever he bent it.

“At least I managed to drive it off,” he thought to himself as he pushed himself up as best he could, hissing as pain shot up his arm. If it wasn’t broken, it was close to it. How much time had passed since the fight, he couldn’t tell. The sky was clear of clouds, at least, and it seemed to be growing darker, so he guessed that it was nighttime… but that didn’t tell him how long he’d slept. A few hours? A day or two? He didn’t have a way to find out.

He sighed heavily as he pulled himself free of the bushes, standing up a bit unsteadily, and he frowned down at himself. His clothing had gotten torn up and his bones were even more exposed than before… that was going to be a huge problem. He was definitely going to be found out now.

It was dark at the moment, though, so that gave him a bit of time to think of a plan and get away from the town, at the very least. He began to limp down the alleyway, keeping to the shadows and watching around him intently on the off chance that the dog came back for a second round.

There was thankfully no sign of the dog and, even better, there were hardly any humans around, either. He made a note to use these abandoned paths and alleyways as much as possible and went down another that was close by, near the busier street, but hidden almost behind a fence and trees. He could hear the cars driving past, but he couldn’t see them and they couldn’t see him.

Following the path, he was displeased to find that it swung out beside the road after awhile, and he crept along the far side of it, trying to stay out of the light streaming from the headlights. His limp was growing worse the longer he put weight on the leg that was bothering him, and his arm was still throbbing badly with pain. To think, a mere dog had beaten him down so badly… he growled to himself in irritation.

“Excuse me, sir, are you alright?” a voice said, catching his attention, and he quickly turned to see a man standing there in a clean uniform, a car pulled along the side of the road with lights flashing on the roof of it. The skeleton was so out of it that he hadn’t noticed.

“I’m fine,” he growled out, irritated with this new obstacle in his way. He made sure to stay out of the light from the man’s flashlight. “Just minding my own business, that’s all.” As much as he would have liked to kill him, even he knew better than to do that.

The light lifted and just caught his tattered shirt within it, and he heard the man breath in sharply. “Sir, your shirt has blood on it,” he said in response, calm and yet the skeleton could hear the slight tension in his voice. “Were you involved in a fight? Do you require medical attention.”

He rolled the dim lights in his sockets, keeping them as dim as possible to prevent them from being seen. “No, it was a wild dog,” he muttered. “Just a scratch or two, I’m fine.” Without waiting for the man to respond, he turned and continued to walk along, trying to get away… but luck was not on his side as his leg suddenly gave out beneath him, sending him crashing to the ground with a hiss of pain.

The officer came to him immediately and they both froze a moment as the human finally caught sight of what he was truly dealing with… an impossible walking, talking, blood-covered skeleton.

“Holy shit,” the officer breathed, his hand instinctively going to the pistol strapped to his belt. “What the hell are you?”

He wouldn’t receive an answer as the downed skeleton kicked out at him with his good leg. The man had made the mistake of getting too close and his slippered foot connected heavily with his knee, buckling the man while he himself scrambled up to his feet, smirking at the man.

“I’m just a skeleton with a thankless job,” he said before turning and fleeing down the path as fast as he could manage, wanting to get far away before the man had time to recover or call for help. At least the man had the intelligence not to start shooting at random, allowing the black-boned skeleton to make a quick escape.

But that would only be the beginning, he knew. He’d been seen by one man and it was only a matter of time before another human caught sight of him. His smirk faded and, seeing a small gas station ahead, he angled towards it. Maybe he could hide for awhile… steal some food and recover, maybe even finally get out of this damn universe. He’d destroy it some other way or just leave it alone… one universe wasn’t worth this much trouble for him.

The gas station was open and he slipped right on in. No one was currently at the checkout, which he was glad for, and he took a moment to regain his breath and recover from the run he’d just taken. His leg was throbbing worse than ever and, having better lighting now, he pushed up his pant leg to look at the damage.

It was pretty bad, to say the least. The dog had bitten down hard and had almost taken an entire chunk of bone from his leg, resulting in the bitten area to be delicate and covered in little spider webbing cracks and larger holes where the teeth and sunk in. The area was covered in a fine layer of dust, too… that wasn’t good.

“Fuck,” he muttered, letting his shorts move back into place while he limped down one of the aisles, examining the cheap gas station food there was on display. None of it looked appealing and he still didn’t know if he could consume any of this.

There were chocolate bars, at least, and he took a handful of them, stuffing them in his pockets before looking at everything else… there was something that reminded him of a Starfait and he guessed it was a human equivalent. Well, those weren’t bad… so he took some of those as well, his pockets quickly bulging… but as he stuffed them, a sudden realization came to him.

Sans Classic wasn’t in his pocket.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a dumb, stupid, short chapter that I hate uploading... ugh... Sorry for not uploading at all recently, though I honestly doubt anyone really cares for this stupid fanfiction. Hope this suffices. No reader again, sorry. Ugh...

For just a brief moment, he convinced himself that this was all just a dumb nightmare and that when he woke up, he’d be back in the Anti-Void. He even painfully gripped his left arm, squeezing it tightly in the hopes that he might wake up, but all it did was send pain shooting through his arm.

Hissing, he let go of his arm and glowered at the floor. No, it wasn’t a dream, after all. He really was stuck here and he really had lost one of the few things that he cared about. He couldn’t remember when he’d last had the puppet, either. It hadn’t exactly been on his mind recently, he could have lost it anywhere between where he was and the park.

Though, if he had to guess, he’d probably lost it back when that dog had attacked him. He scowled angrily and clenched his hands into fists. To get back there, he’d have to pass by the place where he’d run into that human. Was it worth the risk? He didn’t want to just abandon the puppet, but if he were seen again...

It took everything in him not to break into a rage. Why couldn’t he catch a single break? It was probably the universe’s fault, yet he couldn’t even do anything about it. He hated feeling so helpless… it irritated him considerably.

“Excuse me, sir? Are you alright?” a voice from behind the skeleton suddenly said, causing him to stiffen. He didn’t dare turn around as he heard footsteps coming closer, not wanting his face to be seen… somehow the human either hadn’t noticed his legs or just hadn’t commented on it, but he could wager it was the former. Humans could be so daft...

“I’m fine,” he growled in response harshly and he took pleasure in hearing the footsteps come to a stop. “Go bother someone else.” He tugged on his hood to draw it lower over his face before he began to limp away, hoping to get around in the next aisle and escape the gas station.

Yet it seemed the universe had other plans for him. “Sir, your clothes are covered in blood… and…” He heard a short gasp and glanced back slightly to see the human was staring at his legs. Oh, now the idiot noticed. “What… What the hell…?”

It was time he got out of there and quickly. Without hesitating, he took off down the aisle towards the human, slamming his shoulder against them and sent them crashing into a display while he made his escape outside. It was dark and thankfully his clothing was dark as well, which made it easier for him to meld into the blackness of the night. He could hear the human calling after him, but he didn’t dare stop and just lurked in the darkness behind the dumpster outside, taking a moment to order his thoughts.

Peering carefully around the metal container, he peered out at the street he’d come down before, knowing better than to take that route again. There was, thankfully, a road that ran parallel with it a block down. That was how he was going to get back to his puppet.

A car drove past and then he was off, making his way as quickly across the street as he could get, limping badly as he went. He’d definitely need to rest and let his wounds recover soon, but at the moment, he wanted to see if he couldn't get the Sans doll first. It’d help him rest a little more easily to know he wasn’t entirely alone.

The street was lit well, but thankfully wasn’t nearly as busy as the other one had been. A car only passed him by a handful of times and none of them stopped… yet he heard sirens in the distance and couldn’t help but think it was for him.

“Damn these stupid humans,” he muttered, growling softly as he moved a bit more quickly. The street ended far sooner than he hoped, but he pushed on, slipping between the fenced yards and through a short amount of forested land that was stopped at a fence: the same fence as before.

Well, at least his luck wasn’t entirely dry. Making sure his pockets were secure, he found a low-hanging tree and clambered up it, struggling with his injuries. He slipped a few times, but still managed to get over the fence, dropping heavily to the ground with a pained groan.

He pulled himself to his feet and looked around warily to make sure no one was around before he began to limp back in the direction of his fight with the dog, scooping up another stone in case the mutt had decided to come back for more. He didn’t want to risk dusting, especially not in a stupid glitch like this one was.

It wasn’t long before he reached the site of the tussle, made apparent by the splatters of blood that coated the rocks from the dog. The skeleton searched around, growing more weary as each second passed with no sign of the doll anywhere. “Hope that mutt didn’t carry him off,” he muttered, searching beneath the bush once more before giving up on his search. There was no sign of the puppet anywhere and he was too tired to keep up this search any longer.

Glancing up at the sky, he frowned as he looked at the moon high above. He definitely needed to rest at least a little bit. But he refused to sleep in the bush and limped onward, back to the street he’d first come down. There was a few large buildings across the street and adjacent to where he stood and he stumbled his way over to them, ducking down into a narrow space between two of the buildings. There was a large dumpster wedged in there and, though it wasn’t ideal, he laid himself down beside it and quickly drifted off into sleep, feeling more alone than he ever had been.

And when he next awoke, he’d realize that he wasn’t where he’d fallen asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really short, and I'm so sorry about that. I wanted to make this longer, but some things came up and I'm not in my best mindset for writing longer chapters. I had a headache while writing part of this, too. I'll try to do better next time, really. Ah- and- I want to thank everyone for all the super nice comments on the last chapter, that really means a lot to me. Thank you for the support. I'll do better next chapter, I promise.

The knock that came to your door was a pleasant, but unexpected surprise as you looked up from your computer. It had been a long, restless night for you and so you'd decided to get up early and get the work done that you needed to do. Checking the time, you saw that it was only 7:30 am. Who could possibly be at your door this early?

A second polite knock came and you got up, stretching before briskly walking to the door. You were still in your pajamas, but that didn't bother you much as you swung the door open, seeing Ms. Mendoza standing there with an oddly worried look on her face.

“Oh- Morning, Ms. Mendoza,” you said, frowning as you saw the look on her face. “Is everything okay?”

The elderly woman wrung her hands together and glanced towards the narrow alleyway that separated your building from the nearby one. “Good morning, dear,” she said in a troubled tone. “I was taking the trash out this morning and I saw someone sleeping by the dumpster. They looked injured, I thought I should come tell you.”

You furrowed your eyebrows worriedly at the information and stepped out of your apartment. “Thanks, I'll definitely check it out,” you said, nodding to the woman before you made your way to the dumpster. You were cautious as you went, not wanting to possibly be attacked, and you hesitated when you saw the shape lying limply beside the dumpster.

“Hello?” you called softly as you took another few steps forward. Your eyes widened immediately in shock when you realized you recognized the person lying there. Somehow… Error had found himself asleep near your apartment. You couldn't believe the luck.

Seeing his tattered and bloodied clothes, though, you shook away your shock and crouched down next to him worriedly. “Hey, Error?” you said, knowing better than to touch him. He didn't stir at all, which only made your worry increase. Whatever happened to him must've been bad to get him like this.

Cautiously, you placed a hand on his shoulder, but even that motion brought forth no response from him. You chewed on your lip for a moment before making the choice to pick him up and bring him inside: or, at least, try to. The heap of bones was much heavier than you were expecting and you grunted as the weight threatened to knock you off your feet. Not strong enough to fully pick him up, you settled for carefully dragging him to your apartment.

As you went, you noticed someone else who lived in the complex staring at you with an utterly confused expression and you offered them a crooked smile. “Someone threw it out, I thought it'd be a nice Halloween decoration,” you lied, hurrying as you dragged the skeleton into your apartment.

It was only after you'd safely locked your door that you relaxed with a deep exhale, letting the unconscious monster slump to the ground while you leaned back against the cool surface of the door. Your arms ached from the effort of dragging him along, and you just couldn't believe how heavy he was even without added organs, muscle, or skin.

Or, perhaps, you were just a bit too unused to exercise of any kind. In any case, you'd still gotten him inside successfully. Not wanting to leave him there on the floor, you gathered your remaining strength and hauled him to the couch, rolling him up onto it so he'd be a bit more comfortable.

“There we go,” you mumbled to yourself, as you often did. Living alone, you found you often spoke aloud to fill the silence, but you thought you should keep quiet now to let the skeleton sleep.

Speaking of the skeleton, you crouched down beside him, frowning at the bloodied clothes. Could skeletons even bleed? You'd read plenty of fanfictions and each was different when it came to monster, and more specifically skeletal, anatomy. Some said they could bleed, others said they couldn't, and yet there was a real monster laying in front of you. You had no idea what his biology was like.

It wasn't like you could just go to Google and find the answers there, either. Anything you could possibly find would just be theoretical at best or completely nonsensical…

You were just going to overwhelm yourself and you took a deep breath, focusing back on the skeleton, who let out a soft groan as he laid there. Maybe the best thing to do would be to see if the blood came from him. That would be a good start.

While his shorts and shirt were torn to shreds, his jacket seemed relatively intact save for a torn sleeve and a missing portion at the bottom. It was also the most stained with blood and you eased him out of it gently, stopping whenever it got a noise or stir from him. When it was off, you tossed it into the washer so it could be cleaned.

Returning to him, you knelt on the floor beside the couch and turned your attention to his left arm, which he was holding out at an awkward angle. Your eyes widened when you saw a crack at the head of the thick humerus bone, split so wide at the joint that the two halves of the bone were catching on the ulna.

“Shit…” you muttered to yourself, unable to imagine the pain that might cause. Other, less grievous wounds littered the rest of the body, though you didn't dare lift his shirt or remove his shorts to see what was beneath. That was sure to get you killed.

Another wound on his leg also worried you. It looked like an animal had bitten down on it viciously and you were surprised he'd managed to walk all the way to the dumpster from wherever he'd come from.

The worst part about all of this was that you didn't know what you could do to heal him. While you’d once considered becoming a nurse or a doctor, you’d never pursued that career path, and the most you knew how to do was put bandages over cuts. Broken bones was way outside of your ability.

Running a hand through your hair, you left his side and grabbed a roll of elastic bandages. You could at least attempt to bind them for now. You started with his leg, tightly wrapping the fabric around it and pausing when he let out a loud, pained growl.

The skeleton rolled onto his side and you were afraid that he was beginning to wake up, but all he did was settle back down and he even snored softly. Letting out a soft, relieved sigh, you quickly finished bandaging his leg and then his arm before putting the fabric away. You weren’t sure if that would even do much, but you hoped it would at least help keep the broken and bitten bones together.

Now that you had gotten that done… you were honestly at a loss for what you could do to help him. You want to do more for him, but with your lack of knowledge on monster, and skeletal anatomy, you don’t want to risk hurting him somehow. At least you can keep an eye on him for now.

You sat back and ran a hand through your hair, looking around the room as if it might hold any answers to your current problems. Yet it gave none… save for reminding you of the poster you had plastered on the wall in your living room. One of the very skeleton now passed out on your couch.

“Shit!” you said once again, scrambling up and hurriedly taking the poster down, bringing it to your room and putting it away in the closet. If he’d woken up to that, you aren’t sure what the consequences would be, but you had absolutely no desire to find out. To be safe, you should also take down your wall of Undertale merchandise… but you hope just keeping him from your room will be enough.

You locked the door and then scoured the rest of the house, finding anything else incriminating and putting it safely away into your room. You even booted up your computer and hid any file relating to the game and Error in a hidden folder, and changed your backgrounds on all devices to things much more mundane. For now, that would have to do.

With a soft, relieved sigh, you took a seat on the couch, sitting back and wondering what you could possibly do now that he’d found his way to your home. You couldn’t keep him forever, and for all you knew, he would kill you the moment he woke up. Was there a way to even get him out of your universe? Or was he doomed to be stuck forever now that he’d somehow found his way here? And… you hadn’t let yourself think about this before… but if he existed, that meant it all was real. Could you somehow contact, say, Ink and have him come and get Error out of this universe?

Lost as you were in your thoughts, you hadn’t heard the skeleton beside you stirring as he finally began to wake up. The only thing that alerted you to his presence was his boney hand suddenly wrapping around your throat, cutting off your breath as your eyes widened in shock.

“Where the fuck am I?”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy, I'm back with another chapter, and this is one I don't despise: and it's a bit longer than the last one, too. I really need to thank SinMama (I think that's it) for the super nice comment- of course, I'm thankful for every comment, but I'd started this chapter with good feelings- just to have that ripped away from me and all my motivation for it went out the window. It was SinMama's comment that actually got me up today to finish. So! Thank you all so much! I really hope you like this chapter!

The sight before him was a pathetic one: in his tight and unyielding grasp, the human was clawing desperately at his hand in an attempt to remove it from their neck, which was beginning to turn various shades of nasty purple and black. They were wheezing, trying to draw in air with visible struggle. He could kill them if he wanted to.

Yet he needed answers more than he needed new blood on his hands, so he released them after a moment, letting them collapse to the side. He didn’t really have the strength to continue choking them, anyway, and he was already leaning back tiredly against the soft couch he’d woken up on.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” he growled to them, not caring in the slightest that they were still trying to catch their breath. “And killing you is still on the table, so I suggest you get to answering before I lose all my patience.”

They looked up at him with watery eyes, letting out a soft croak as if they were trying to respond, just to stop and wince in pain. He’d done quite a number on their throat, not that he cared at all. Served the idiot right for dragging him to who knew where.

“Y… You’re… in my… home…” the human rasped out, their face twisting with pain. It would have been hilarious to him if he wasn’t in so much pain and so irritated. “N-Neighbor… found you… by the dumpster…”

If he could have glitched, he would have at that. “... That… was your dumpster?” he said in a low, irritated tone of voice, glaring up at the ceiling. “Damn you, Squid, you did this didn’t you?” He received no answer, but he knew he wouldn’t be likely to get an answer. Though he wondered if the inkstain had somehow managed to get the Muffet of Reapertale to help him with whatever little game he was pulling at the moment. How else would this all be happening so conveniently?

The human said something, but he completely ignored them and just got up and began to pace. His leg was in agony, but he ignored that as well. This entire situation was complete and utter shit and he hated that he was so helpless… Once he got out, he was going to teach that Squid a lesson he’d never forget.

“Error!” the human called to him suddenly. He growled and glared back at them, watching as they rubbed their sore throat. Why bother talking to him if it hurt too much? “You need to… to sit down…. your leg needs rest.”

He rolled his dim lights and retorted, “How about you shut up? Your voice isn’t gonna get better if you don’t talk.” Yet… nonetheless, he sat back down, begrudgingly acknowledging the fact that they were right. “Stupid, annoying human…” Something else donned on the skeleton and he looked down at his body, which seemed bare without his jacket. “Where the hell is my jacket?”

Glaring at the human, they quickly pointed towards another room. “I-In the wash. S-Sorry, it needed it,” they replied quickly. Well, at least they looked a bit more fearful of him than they had in the park. That was an improvement.

“Tch…” was all he replied with, though, before falling silent as he looked around. What else could he possibly say? He was stuck here in this stupid room until he was healed, and he was sure the human wasn’t going to risk angering him further. So, silence prevailed.

It stretched on and he glanced at the human, watching them fiddling around with their phone. Of course the human was messing with technology… but he grew paranoid and snatched it from their hands, looking to see what they were doing. He wouldn’t put it past them to take a picture of him or something else that could put him at risk.

What was displayed was a recent news report about that gas station he’d stolen from. Of course, the report was about him, and his angry sneer faded into a colder expression as he saw the few, grainy pictures that the article had added. It was clear who, and what, was depicted. He should have been more careful.

“What, were you going to report me?” he asked accusingly as he glared at them. They hadn’t dared to try taking their phone back.

They did, however, quickly shake their head at the accusation. “N-No,” they said softly. “Just reading it…” They coughed and got up, shuffling into another room with his gaze never once leaving them. He had half a mind to go after them, but the pain in his leg stopped him from bothering.

When the human returned, they were carrying a multitude of items in their arms. The first thing was an ice pack, which they wrapped up in a towel and placed gingerly against their swollen neck. There was also a few bottles of water, a small bottle that looked like it held pills of some sort, and also a bar of chocolate.

“Uh… I don’t know if human painkillers would help you,” they said, still in that soft tone to probably try and save their voice. “B-But there’s plenty if you need some… and chocolate if you want it.”

For a moment, the skeleton stared suspiciously at the human and their offerings, still not trusting that they didn’t have darker, more sinister intentions. Yet the chocolate was enticing and he ended up snatching it from their hands, not even bothering to remove the wrapper as he shoved it into his mouth. His multitude of tongues made quick work of the bar and he spat the wrapper out into his hand.

“What kind of human garbage was that?” he muttered, not having any intention of admitting that the chocolate wasn’t all that bad. He tossed the wrapper onto the floor, eyeing the human to see what kind of reaction he’d get. “Only good thing about that was that I kept it down.”

They frowned at the wrapper on the floor and he could see they were debating what to do mentally, but in the end all they did was grab it slowly with a disgusted look and throw it away themself. Tch, this human was too easy.

“It’s just… generic chocolate,” they replied as they sat down, wiping their hand off on their pants. “How… How did you end up so hurt?”

The question angered him, if only because it was humiliating, and he looked away while crossing his arms: a move that brought fresh pain to his arm. “Tch… That’s none of your business,” he muttered defensively, staring at an interesting poster the human had hung up on the wall. Displayed on it was a scene of two children, one with an odd journal in hand with a 3 written on the golden hand decal on the front. Behind them was a large, ominous triangle with an eye staring down at them. He could have sworn he destroyed a universe like that once. “Why do you even care?”

They didn’t respond immediately, and he was beginning to think they weren’t going to when they said softly, “I just hate seeing anyone get hurt, that’s all. That’s why I wanted to help you before, too. Besides, if I know what caused it… maybe I could help better.”

He huffed in response and finally glanced back at them with a frown. “What a loser,” he muttered, rolling the dim lights of his eyes. “I’ll be fine in a few days, just need to recover on my own. Would be better if I had monster food, but I can’t get any, obviously. If I could just walk…”

That was the problem, though. He’d used his leg too much before and now the pain he felt in it was enough to deter him from trying to get up again for awhile. If he had access to his magic, and his portals, he could easily get himself a health item… but now he was restricted to waiting. Damn, did he hate that.

“This entire universe is a fucking piece of garbage,” he muttered to himself in a rather childish, grumpy tone of voice. “I can’t wait to destroy it.”

A high beep rang from another room and he fell quiet, glaring at the human as if they’d directly caused the sound. They stood back up, giving him an almost sheepish and apologetic look. “J-Just the washer,” they explained. “You’ll stay here, right?”

He glared at them before sighing and pressing his back against the couch more. “Yeah… Yeah, sure…” he grumbled.

Error was almost certain that he was going to regret that choice, and yet as they walked away, he remained where he was.

~~~

You weren’t sure that the skeleton would still be on the couch when you came back, and it was a pleasant surprise to see him still there when you came back from the laundry room. It brought a smile to your face and you grabbed a second chocolate bar from it’s place in the cupboard for him.

“I’m surprised you didn’t run off,” you admitted, sitting beside him once more and trying your best to ignore the pain in your throat. It felt scratchy and rather bothersome, though thankfully the pain pill you’d taken was starting to dull it.

He rolled his eyelights in irritation, but still took the chocolate when you offered it to him: it counted as a success in your book. “You have my jacket, idiot,” he grumbled in response. “And my leg hurts too much. Don’t think I like you or anything.”

That wasn’t a mistake you’d ever make, but you were still glad he hadn’t left. If he’d gotten hurt the first time, you didn’t want to imagine what would have happened if he’d left again without at least healing. 

“Well, it’ll be dry soon… but I think you should stay here until you’re able to walk, at least,” you replied, hoping he didn’t get too mad about you suggesting it.

A dirty glare was shot your way, yet he thankfully didn’t act upon the annoyance. All he did was sigh irritatedly. “Yeah, sure, whatever,” he grumbled. “But as soon as I can, I’m leaving, and I will kill you if you try to stop me.”

The look he sent with the threat had shivers rolling down your spine. You had to remember that this was real and if he really was as unstable as in the canon lore, you needed to make sure you didn’t push him the wrong way.

“I won’t stop you,” you promised, averting your gaze. Your shock had faded and now that look on his face was enough to set you on edge. “Just want to make sure you’re okay for when you do go.”

His only response was a muttered, “Yeah…” before he went silent again. He really wasn’t much of a talker, was he? It normally wouldn’t bother you, yet it did with him: and how unpredictable he could be. What was to stop him from snapping your neck without warning?

To be truthful, there was nothing you could do to stop him, and that was terrifying.

Taking a deep breath to try and keep those thoughts at bay, you grabbed the TV remote and powered it up. You rarely ever watched TV itself, and usually used it for music or gaming, but you actually opened up your channels this time and began to scroll through them. He liked Undernovella, right? Maybe you could find a soap opera or something of that sort that he’d enjoy… and keep his mind off of possibly killing you.

“What are you doing?” he muttered, glancing over at you with a scowl.

“I… thought you might want to watch something,” you replied, quickly selecting a show you hoped he might enjoy. “You know, since I don’t think you want to watch anything else… I can change it if you want.”

He sighed heavily and you risked a glance over at him, seeing him once again rolling his eyelights. Well, he could be rolling you into a bodybag, so it wasn’t anything to complain about. “Just leave it,” he said, staring at the screen. “Better than talking to you, anyway.”

That… honestly hurt, but you said nothing about it. “Well… I need to get back to work, but if you need anything, I’ll be at my computer,” you said quietly, getting up and shuffling to your desk pushed into the corner. You didn’t expect him to say anything in response, and to no surprise of yours, he didn’t even give you another look.

Even with a houseguest, you felt rather lonely. Yet you just powered up your computer and opened a new browser tab to look up a bit more information on the news report you’d seen. There were a few more now, each one talking about his appearance at the gas station, and there were even a few reports about a police officer that had seen him, too.

“Not very careful, are you?” you murmured too softly for him to hear, closing the tab and bringing up your work folder. You were acutely aware of the skeleton behind you the entire time, the living destroyer of the Multiverse, sitting on your couch and watching a random human television show.

You hoped you weren’t making a mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also- and this is random, I know, but I had an idea for another Undertale fanfiction. But I want to include you all in the decision for who the main character would be. The only information I'm going to give to you is that I'm calling the story "DETERMINATION Is A Curse." And I can't decide whether to have Frisk, Chara (who I was originally thinking), or have another Reader insert for it. Thoughts? Suggestions? It's all up to you!


	10. Author's Note

This isn't a chapter: and I'm sorry if I made you think it was one. I just wanted to make an announcement that I started the first chapter of DETERMINATION Is A Curse and I wanted to let you all know. If you like this one, maybe you'll like that one! I'm pretty excited about it, too, and I might get chapter 2 up soon. So- uh- Yeah. And don't worry, I won't completely abandon this one and I'll try to update both of them equally. Anyway, sorry for the randomness of this, but I'll be back soon with another chapter. ^_^


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing this chapter, a lot more than I thought it would. It only took me two or three sittings to get it all down, and yet it's still one of the longer chapters (I think) I've done. It's pretty much a little fluff scene with a bit of progression, but I'm excited for what's gonna come. I have so many ideas I want to add, it's crazy.

Much to your surprise, and admittedly relief, the following days to your discovery were mostly uneventful. You’d been fearing that having a guest known as the destroyer of universes would lead to unnecessary drama or even a destruction of your apartment, but beyond a slight issue with throwing his trash on the floor, your guest was surprisingly docile.

So long as you let him watch as much TV as he wanted, fed him, and made sure he was entertained, the skeleton was hardly demanding or irritable at all. It shocked you, and even made you slightly wary of what plans he could possibly be concocting, but it was also… rather nice. Living alone had it’s perks, yes, but it was also incredibly lonely.

The only thing that really worried you were the police reports that inevitably showed up daily on the news. A search for the “creature stalking the streets” was underway and more eyewitnesses had come forth, detailing times when they’d seen the creature walking down the street. Some of the reports were absolute ludicrous, but they couldn’t all be fake, you knew.

What made it worse was Error’s utter silence when the two of you were watching the news. You had no idea what he was thinking and you were worried he was going to do something rash. And when you dared to sneak glances at him during the reports, his sockets were completely empty each and every time.

As long as he stayed inside with the curtains drawn, though, he was safe from the cruelties of the outside world. In a way, his injuries were a sort of protective barrier that kept him from leaving. Not that you said it aloud to him: you were sure that would piss him off.

Something that surprised you was his odd interest in your job. When you had finally had time to power up the computer and get started on the work you needed to make up, you’d felt his sockets drilling holes into the back of his skull.

“What the hell are you doing?” he’d asked in an almost accusatory tone. It was one of his more usual tones, even if he wasn’t actually accusing you of anything.

Glancing at him, you’d raised an eyebrow before giving your screen a confused look. “I’m… working…?” You hadn’t been sure why he was asking about it. “Why do you want to know?”

He’d made an almost disapproving sound and, looking to him again, you watched him cross his arms and look away. “Tch… it looks stupid.”

Yet since that first interaction, he’d begun ignoring his shows and watching you instead.

It was the fifth day of his stay with you and you woke up with a smile already brightening your sleepy expression. You knew you shouldn’t be enjoying his company so much, but damn it, you really were. He was as terrifying as he was grumpy, and yet he was also funny and had this sort of charm to him that was the reason he was such a popular character in the fandom.

You decided you wanted to surprise him with a nice breakfast this morning, so you got up without any mental complaint and quickly threw on whatever was clean in your closet without much care for how it looked. There wasn’t any reason you needed to look good in your own home, and considering Error slept on your couch in the same clothes he’d come in with - though they’d been washed, of course - you didn’t feel any need to dress nicely.

Pushing your hair back out of your face, figuring you could brush it later, you left your room and quickly shut the door before you made your way into the living room. The skeleton’s name was on your tongue, but it died instantly as you froze in place.

He usually didn’t wake up before you, and even if he did, he usually just powered on the television and watched one of the shows he’d taken a liking to. Yet this morning as different and he was sitting at your desk, your computer powered up and many different files and tabs up on the screen. What… What was he doing?

 

Shocked into speechlessness, with your heart beginning to thud in your chest, you slowly walked towards him. “What are you doing?” you managed to get out in an almost rasping tone. What all had he looked at? Had he found the game? Had he found your folders with fanart in it?

“Looking at your computer ‘cause I’m bored,” he grumbled in response. He was usually more irritable in the mornings. “How’s your computer run with so many files on it?”

The skeleton moved the mouse and the cursor landed on a folder he hadn’t clicked on yet and you could have sworn your heart stopped for a moment. That was the folder you’d hidden Undertale and all of it’s relating files. He was about to-

“No!” you yelled suddenly, rushing over and grabbing his wrist, pulling it more harshly than you meant to away from the mouse. “Stay off my computer!”

Your actions seemed to startle him because he flinched. He flinched and stared up at you, for a moment surprise written across his face before it turned to an uncomfortable anger and he snatched his hand away from you as if you’d burned him. “Don’t touch me!” he growled defensively, chest heaving as he stood up fast enough to knock the chair back. Oh- Right- He hated being touched, and you’d just grabbed him in an aggressive manner. “If you didn’t want me touching it, you could’ve just told me that instead of acting like I was going to kill you!”

He stalked away and you were afraid that he was going to walk straight out the front, never to return, but he instead threw open the bathroom door and slammed it shut behind him. You stared after him with an uncomfortably guilty expression on his face before sinking down onto the computer chair with a heavy sigh.

“I’m sorry,” you murmured, tiredly rubbing your face. You really hadn’t meant to grab him so aggressively and you felt bad about it, but you were also relieved that he hadn’t clicked onto that folder. The last thing you wanted was for him to find proof that he was supposed to be a game, a mere figment of imagination. Or… well, you supposed that if existed, then he couldn’t be called just a figment of someone’s imagination, but that would still mess with someone mentally, wouldn’t it?

Agh- You needed to stop thinking about this before you gave yourself a headache. Sighing softly, you turned to your computer and closed everything down before finally setting up a password for your account. Living alone, you’d never seen a reason to before, but it would be better now if you did. After a moment’s hesitation, you created a new account and set it up just for him. There, maybe he’d forgive you for that.

You looked towards the bathroom to see if he was getting out, but you heard the water running and figured he was taking a shower. Well, there was nothing wrong with that. He needed time to calm down and you needed to think of a good way to apologize.

 

An idea struck moment’s later as your stomach grumbled, signifying its displeasure at not being fed. Error had an obsession with chocolate, right? You had a sudden craving for pancakes… so you were going to apologize with chocolate chip pancakes.

Jumping up, you went into your tiny kitchen and pulled out a griddle you’d been given years ago by your mom. It was dusty and you watched a spider scuttle across it, and you wrinkled your nose as you set to cleaning it before starting it to heating as you quickly made pancake batter sprinkled through with a healthy amount of chocolate chips. Old memories of you and your mother cooking rose in your mind and you smiled as you prepared the food.

 

In the process of you cooking, the skeleton must have finished his shower, because about halfway through the mix, you heard him say, “What the fuck are you doing now?”

Looking up at the grumpy skeleton, you smiled apologetically. “I’m making pancakes,” you explained, looking back down and flipping the set you were currently working on. “With chocolate chips in them. I… I made a mistake before and I thought this would be a good way to apologize.”

You listened as he snorted and walked close, bare feet clacking against the tiled surface. Huh… you hadn’t thought he would ever be comfortable enough to walk barefoot throughout your apartment. “I’m still pissed about that, you know,” he grumbled. “Pancakes isn’t gonna change that.”

“I didn’t think it would,” you admitted, adding the pancakes to the sizable collection you were collecting on a plate. You were planning on bringing some to Mrs. Mendoza as thanks for all the cookies. “But really… I’m sorry for grabbing you, Error. It clearly startled you and I shouldn’t’ve have gotten so upset. If you can’t forgive me, that’s okay. But, um… I made you an account on the computer so you can go on it whenever you want now… without using my account.”

Glancing to him, you watched as a frown grew on his face, and you wondered if maybe you’d somehow messed up again. With a resigned sigh, you looked back to the griddle and added the last of the pancake batter to it, putting the bowl and ladle you’d used to pour it into the sink.

A silence that wasn’t quite comfortable rose between the two of you, but you did your best to ignore it as you flipped the pancake. This was your fault, anyway, even if he had been the one snooping through your files. You wondered what he’d been searching for, if you was trying to find anything at all. Maybe he’d just been nosy.

“... Thanks,” he muttered a few minutes later as you finished up the pancakes and gave him a nice big plateful of the sweet breakfast. “These don’t look terrible.”

That was the best compliment you were ever going to get from him and you smiled. “You’re welcome, Error. Go ahead and eat, I’m going to take some of these to my neighbor.”

He grumbled a reply, already shoving the pancakes into his open mouth while you took some of what remained and put it on a disposable paper plate before leaving the apartment and went to the door of your elderly neighbor. The same one from before, the one that had seen you dragging Error back to your apartment, was currently outside and gave you a strange look before quickly entering his own door. Huh. That was odd.

You chose to ignore it, though, and knocked on the elderly woman’s door, waiting patiently. She soon opened it and smiled at you warmly. “Oh! Good morning, dearie,” she said with a pleasantly surprised tone. “How can I help you?”

“Morning, Mrs. Mendoza,” you said to her, offering her the plate of pancakes. “I decided to make some extra pancakes for you this morning.”

There was nothing sweeter, you thought, than seeing her eyes light up as she took the plate from you. “Oh! Thank you so much!” she said, taking a deep breath of the food. “These smell delicious.” She smiled up at you before suddenly asking, “Oh, right, whatever happened with that person by the dumpster?”

You smiled back and, though you didn’t like lying to her at least, you said, “Oh, it was just a Halloween decoration someone forgot to throw away. It looked pretty realistic, didn’t it?”

The elderly woman sighed in relief. “It did and I was so worried… I’m glad it was nothing.” She smiled at you again. “Thank you for the pancakes, dear. Have a good day, okay?”

“You, too,” you replied, walking off to your apartment and slipping inside. That was one problem resolved, at least. Hopefully the police activity would die down soon and you and Error wouldn’t need to worry about it. Being trapped in a tiny apartment all day couldn’t be very fun. Sure, you lived here, but you could still leave your home to take out the trash or do other outdoor activities. Your houseguest couldn’t.

He was sitting on the couch and ignored you as you went back to get your own pancakes. Overall, he seemed fine… but you weren’t sure if he actually was. It worried you and you wish you hadn’t grabbed him before. His trust in you had probably diminished and you weren’t sure if he’d open up to you anymore. Not that he had before… but you’d started to get there.

Lamenting your own stupidity that morning, you sat next to him and began to eat, the chocolate chips still warm and melting on your tongue. On the television currently was some drama that the skeleton seemed entirely invested on, eyelights glued to it. You had no interest in whatever it was and ate quietly, thoughts a whirlwind as you considered your situation once again.

 

After what felt like hours, though couldn’t have been because you were still chewing the last bite of pancake, you felt something prod you. Jumping, you blinked and looked towards the skeleton. “Huh?”

Error practically growled at you and scowled. “Dumbass, I was trying to talk to you!” he snapped. “You just completely spaced out! What are you, a moldsmal?”

“Oh- Ah- Sorry, Error,” you stammered, blushing faintly at your own behavior. Wait, did he just compare you to a moldsmal? “What… What were you trying to say?”

Rolling his eyelights, he sighed heavily and crossed his arms. “Idiot,” he muttered. “I was trying to ask you what your stupid name was!”

You blinked at him blankly. “My… name?” you mumbled. You hadn’t even told him your name yet? You were surprised by that, mostly at yourself. This entire time, you’d been calling him by name, and it hadn’t ever registered that he wouldn’t know yours. He always substituted it well enough with names like Idiot, Dumbass, and Human. It hadn’t crossed your mind before.

Yet you couldn’t help but smile brightly. He’d taken the initiative to ask on his own and that wasn’t something you would have expected from him. This was a big step forward, you thought. Maybe you hadn’t messed up too badly.

“My… name…… is………”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, uhhhh... I have a Tumblr if any of you are interested. I post a lot of artworks I've done (not that I'm any good) and other random, short stories I've written. There's some fandom stuff, so, if you're interested, check it out! I also have a (less active, admittedly) Twitter. Name there is just Captain Invalid, heh. But, uh, other than that, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.
> 
> Tumblr: https://captaininvalid.tumblr.com/


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, I somehow managed to finish writing this. I... really didn't think I'd get this chapter finished any time soon. I've had a preeeetty rough time lately and all of my motivation went down the drain. I even deleted the other fanfiction I'd started because it was just... too much. Any of you who enjoyed it, sorry... I just put too much on myself and I want to be able to focus on my other projects: mainly this fanfiction and an original work that I still need to finish chapter 2 of. Anyway... uh, this chapter is mostly just filler. I swear I have a plot in mind, I just wanted to build a bit of a friendship between reader and Error up a bit. This has probably been reeeeeally jumpy so far and I'm sorry about that. But it should be a bit more smooth in the future. Hopefully. ... Okay, probably not. But I hope you all enjoy it anyway.

As much as he liked to tell himself that he hated the human and their entire, stupid universe… he just couldn’t truthfully tell himself that any longer. Oh, he hated the universe. He was still trapped within it and his rage and hatred for it burned hotter each and every day: but the human, as stupid as they were… they weren’t too bad.

There had been the instance where they’d touch him and even yelled at him for browsing through their files… but they’d instantly rectified the problem by making him pancakes and even setting up a profile for him on the computer. He told himself that wasn’t nearly good enough for an apology… but the pancakes had been delicious and he enjoyed playing whatever games were downloaded on the computer.

Though he wanted to hate the human, he just couldn’t find it within himself to any longer. It was a problem, he knew: if he started to care for the human, then he’d find it harder to destroy their universe, and there were enough universes already he was… sparing for the moment. One more, especially the universe of the creators, was going to throw everything off.

Yet the more time that passed while spent stuck in the human’s apartment - and even though he was healed and could leave, he hadn’t yet for numerous reasons - the more he realized that he wasn’t just tolerating them… no, he was starting to like them as a friend. And that was dangerous.

“You’re such an idiot,” he growled quietly to himself, staring at the bathroom mirror and into his glowing sockets. Three weeks. He’d been with the human for three weeks by this point and they were much closer than he wanted them to be. “You need to leave before this gets too bad.”

“Error, are you going to come out soon? We still need to beat this boss!” the human’s voice came through the door, muffled slightly by the cheap wood. Right, he’d begun playing video games with the human. Yet another thing he should have refused and yet… he hadn’t.

He glared at his reflection once more even as he called, “I’ll be back out in a moment.” With a heavy sigh, he ran a hand absently over his skull, digging his fingers briefly into the bone as a form of punishment. What the skeleton really needed was a good thrashing to put him in place. Friends… with a human, no less. His partner Nightmare would have his head for it.

Though if he tried to get into this universe, chances were that he’d just end up in the same boat the destroyer had found himself in. The thought of his current roommate meeting the prince of nightmares made him snort. They wouldn’t last two seconds against the moody pile of sludge.

“I’ll leave tomorrow,” he told his reflection quietly before he left the bathroom and kicked the door shut carelessly behind him. Walking back into the living room, he scowled at the human, who sat on the couch with their feet lightly bouncing against the cushion.

They gave him a wary smile, most likely due to the clear annoyance he wore on his face. “You look like you’re in a bad mood all of a sudden,” they said, a cautious note in their voice. “What’s wrong?”

The skeleton sighed and sat down beside them, snatching up his controller and frowning at it. “Nothing’s wrong,” he lied, knowing the human would see right through it. “So just drop it.”

Without even needing to look, Error knew that there was a hurt expression on the human’s face. After all, for him to suddenly be so cold after a few weeks of cautious friendship was bound to hurt. He told himself he didn’t care and merely stared at the screen until they inevitably started the game back up, silence stretching between them with only the sound of cartoonish shooting to fill it.

~~~

An almost tense chill filled your apartment for the remainder of the day after the skeleton so coldly brushed you off. Whether it stemmed from you or him, you couldn’t be sure, though it most likely was a joint feeling between you both.

You had been hurt initially, but as the day extended, you just felt sad overall. Having a companion… a friend to keep you company during your lonely days had been wonderful, and the fact that it was one of your favorite characters from a great video game had only made it even more magical and amazing. Deep inside, you’d known it couldn’t have lasted forever, but it still hurt to know that it was finally coming to an end.

He was bound to move on eventually. Error was a restless sort and as the days had passed, he’d taken to pacing around the apartment at times or even stealing glances out the window when he could get away with it. After having an entire Multiverse to traverse through, you didn’t imagine that being suddenly confined to a single tiny apartment had been an easy transition. And… well, he wasn’t a pet. You couldn’t force him to stay.

You’d just wanted him to stay for a little while longer.

A heavy sigh escaped you and you frowned at the pot you were filling with water. It was selfish trying to make him stay or to even think about convincing him to remain in your apartment. Completely, utterly selfish, yet the thoughts continued to plague you. There had to be something you could do to prolong his stay, right?

Though you didn’t think you would come up with any ideas, one wormed its way into your mind as you began to boil the pot of water. It was getting dark out, wasn’t it? So long as he was dressed in clothes that covered his skeletal features, he’d be safe to go outside at night. If you got him some time away from the apartment, maybe he’d want to stay a bit longer.

“Error? Can I talk to you?” you called to him, turning the stove back off and walking into the living room to directly talk to him

He’d taken over the computer while you went to make dinner and looked up at you with a frown. “What?” he asked in a flat tone, still trying to drive you away, it seemed.

You chewed on your lip and rocked back on your heels. “... You know… if you want to go outside now, we could. I have some clothes that would cover you up enough so you could get away with being outside,” you said. “Would you like that?”

“You don’t need to talk to me like I’m a child,” he grumbled, though you were glad to see he was shutting down the computer and getting up. “But yeah, I would. I hate being stuck in your stupid apartment.”

Though he was being rude, and intentionally so, you still smiled at him. “Great, I’ll get the clothes,” you said, quickly moving into your room and rummaging through your closet. He was shorter than you, but he was admittedly wider, and you found some clothes from when you’d been in high school and not as healthy as you were currently. Why you still had these clothes, you couldn’t remember, but you were glad they were available for Error’s use.

Choosing a t-shirt and jeans, as well as a pair of gloves to cover his hands, you left your room and locked the door behind you before holding out the bundle towards him. He took it with an obvious roll of his eyelights, but still carried the clothes off into the bathroom to change.

A grin came to your face and you stretched luxuriously for a moment before gathering a few supplies that you might need such as your pocket knife, a flashlight, and your ID, putting all three into your pocket. You then grabbed a sweatshirt in case it got cold and tied it around your waist.

By the time you were ready to go, your skeletal companion was walking out of the bathroom. He looked surprisingly good in the old clothes: the jeans made him look a bit taller and slimmer and the old, ratty t-shirt fit him well. With the gloves added, he looked like he was getting ready to head out for band practice.

You must have been staring because he glared up at you suspiciously. “What?” he asked in a demanding tone, the same one he had so often. “Why the hell are you staring at me? Damn human freak.”

Blinking, you swung your head away to stare at the door instead. “I wasn’t meaning to stare,” you said quickly. “I just… thought those clothes looked pretty good on you.” You- You didn’t mean to be so blunt about it and you blushed faintly. “Anyway, let’s go.”

Without waiting for whatever sharp retort he probably had, you unlocked the front door and stepped outside, your breath almost clouding in the chill night air. It was going to get warmer, though, you knew.

He stepped out beside you a few moments later, casting you a glare as he did so, but you ignored it as best you could as you locked the door behind you. All you’d done was given him a compliment, yet it had left him glaring and you feeling a bit embarrassed. Were things ever going to be easy between the two of you?

“Uh… so, where would you like to go?” you asked him as you pocketed your keys and turned to face the skeleton.

As you were expecting, he was still glaring at you, but he huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t know anything about this damn place, so you tell me,” he grumbled. It was clear he hadn’t forgiven you for the compliment… what an odd skeleton.

You, thankfully, had an idea in mind on where to go and shrugged, wanting to ease the now-awkward tension that was still between you both, and began to lead him down the main road. “Well… I do have one idea in mind,” you said, walking in the opposite direction of the park. “But it’s a surprise.”

That brought a snort out of him and you glanced at him just in time to see him rolling the dim lights in his sockets. “Oh~, a surprise,” he said, voice oozing with contempt and sarcasm. “I just love surprises, there’s nothing better.”

“This is going to be a good surprise, though,” you protested softly. “Just… wait until we’re there before you judge, okay?”

 

All the skeleton did was snort again, but he fell quiet and the two of you walked along in silence. Being a cool night, you were glad to find that there were few others out, and those you did pass ignored Error and you entirely. It seemed your idea with the clothes was working, and it brought a smile to your face. He was scowling, you could tell, but he was looking around attentively. That had to count for something.

You passed through a quaint little neighborhood on your way, one you’d come to know over time. If you didn’t walk to the park, this was where you came when you needed to get away from your apartment. The neighborhood didn’t take long to pass through and the road you were on widened into a nice, scenic parkway that had crosswalks attached. The center of the road was decorated with nice trees and the land around was spacious and beautiful.

“Where the hell are we even going?” he asked, the first thing he’d said since you’d begun. “I swear, if this is some kind of trick…”

Though you didn’t mean for it to happen, you chuckled and smiled at him. “It’s not a trick… we’re almost there, trust me. You can see it if you look hard enough.”

You remembered that his eyesight was terrible and your smile faded. Oh… maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea. Worriedly, you watched him, his sockets squinted as he tried to see whatever it was you were heading to. Yet he made no effort to tell you about his poor eyesight and you knew better than to bring it up yourself.

Ahead of you was a shimmering glimmer, signifying you were coming to a river. He squinted more, but it soon became apparent where you were heading. The parkway became elevated, swinging up high into a large bridge that stretched across a massive river. It had once made you nervous, but after coming here so often, all you could think was how beautiful it was.

Especially on a night like this one. The sky was clear and the dark, smooth surface of the slow-moving water reflected the stars that glimmered above like a mirror. You were in luck, for the moon was full and glowed beautifully along with it’s reflection below.

“Holy shit,” you heard him mutter as you came to a little space on the bridge meant for tourists. It was a little outcropping that extended slightly from the bridge and had a large pair of binoculars attached: though it was one you had to pay for.

“It’s nice, huh?” you asked, taking a seat on the cold bench and looking out over the water. An occasional car passed by in a flurry of wind, but it was otherwise quiet and peaceful.

Taking another glance at Error, he scowled back and crossed his arms once again. “I’ve seen better views,” he grumbled, but he was still looking.

Another silence fell between you both, but you were glad to find it was much more companionable than before. A swirl appeared in the water, a slow-moving but still dangerous whirlpool, and you watched it until it faded. Yet every time you looked to the skeleton, his gaze was turned towards the sky.

*Click.*

He blinked at the sudden bright light and turned to look at you with a suspicious scowl. “Did… you just take a picture of me?” he growled incredulously.

A mischievous grin came to your face, giving him all the answer he needed. “I couldn’t help it, you just looked so peaceful,” you said. And he really had looked at peace in a way you hadn’t seen since. Of course, your little camera stunt had ruined it, but… you’d captured in the picture.

“You can’t just go taking pictures like that! Delete it!” the skeleton snapped, making a lunge for you and the phone, but you pocketed it too quickly. “Hey!”

“No can do, Error. I’m not giving up an opportunity to keep that,” you said, ready to dodge him if he tried to go for the phone again, though he thankfully didn’t try digging into your pocket.

He settled for glaring venomously at you and launched a tirade of curses and other angry sounds, most of which you couldn’t catch because of the way he mumbled it, but you did catch, “stupid human,” “dumbass,” “picture,” and a few of his other swears.

All you did was smile at him with a mock cheerfulness, yet as the cold finally began to seep into your body, you shivered and focused on putting on your sweatshirt. “Well… Are you ready to head back yet?” you asked once his angry tirade had finally finished.

“Sure…” he grumbled, glaring at you again as your head popped out of the top of the sweatshirt. “Don’t you dare take another picture of me or I’ll break your phone.”

“Okay!” You said it a bit too cheerfully and he squinted suspiciously at you as you practically began to skip down the sidewalk with a happy smile on your face. You weren’t going to bother telling him about the picture you’d gotten of him cuddling a plush toy in his sleep.

It didn’t take the both of you very long to return back to your house, and to your absolute delight, the tension from before was gone. Sure, he was grouchy about the picture you’d taken, but you managed to strike up a conversation with him. It was about space, of all things, and you quite enjoyed hearing him comparing the stars he’d seen on the bridge to the various universes he’d traveled to.

You would have to see about getting him a space book in the next few days. He was sure to love it.

When you got back to the apartment, you smiled and waved at one of your neighbors, the same one you’d seen when dragging Error back into your house. He worked night shifts, so it wasn’t unusual to see him out at this time. The man just frowned at you and your companion, ignoring your wave before getting into his car and driving off.

“Geez… he used to at least wave back,” you grumbled before unlocking your door and walking inside. “All he does now is glare at me or ignore me.”

“I could always take him out for you,” Error offered, and you couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. Yet before you could ask him about it, you paused as you heard a loud grumble and you looked up at him immediately. He was blushing and had a hand on the space where a stomach would be. “... Did you even make dinner before we left?”

You just stared at him for a long moment and he gave you a defensive look, scowling at you deeply. “Why the hell are you staring at me now!? Knock it off!”

The angry growl had you blinking and straightening up as you kicked off your shoes. “That… I didn’t think you could make that sound,” you said, wildly curious now. “You don’t even have a stomach, how’d you do that?”

His frown only deepened and he crossed his arms once again. “I still need to eat, you idiot,” he growled, though that wasn’t an answer and you both knew it. “Did you even make anything?”

“Um…” As much as you wanted to question skeleton biology, you held off on it, as you were quite hungry as well. “I didn’t, but I can just order some pizza. Sound good to you?”

Getting a grunt of confirmation, you nodded and took out your phone, stepping into the kitchen to place an order. A grin made its way onto your face and you were glad that Error couldn’t see it. That… That had been nice. Really, really nice. You didn’t mind being alone, you honestly didn’t… but having a friend to come with you on a walk was something you’d missed doing. All of your friends had gone separate ways and now you were just lonely.

Sure, Error had a huge attitude and insulted you with almost every sentence, but you could tell that he didn’t mind you as much as he once had. You had a friend again and you suspected that he felt the same. When was the last time the destroyer of universes had a friend? You wanted to ask, but you were sure that would just lead to him cursing you out and denying your growing friendship.

But it was there. If not fully grown, then it was at least a sapling that had been carefully planted. And you were going to make sure it grew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, you probably all thought I forgot the Sans doll. Nope! I didn't! It shall return! And I hope you've all caught the mild foreshadow I've put in the chapter (there was a bit last chapter, too). Something's coming uuuup. Though... it probably won't be nearly as exciting as I'm making it out to be.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this terribly and poorly written? Yes. Was it all cranked out in one day where I woke up really early in the morning? Yes. Did I bother to reread it for any mistakes or bother to rework it to make it better? No, no, I did not. But. Hey. It's another chapter. I... am really sorry for not doing better with this. I've had... a really bad few days and didn't do any writing at all. Not even on my original work.
> 
> But... I'm so glad to see so many nice comments left from all of you. I personally think this entire thing is a mess and terrible and not at all a show of how well I can really write. I'm putting about 40% effort into this and I think it shows and I'm sorry for that. You all deserve 100% but I just can't give that.
> 
> And I forgot about the Sans doll. Damn. It will come back though! I have a plan for the thing. I have plans. Though, to be honest, I'm so disorganized that I'll probably drop about half those plans and throw in new ones that make no sense. :') Anyway enough of my rambling. Enjoy this terrible work.
> 
> (Actually, adding here... I started a new thing called A Prince's Tale. It will not be dropped like I dropped my other story. Check it out, maybe?)

He couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t a particularly rare occurrence and there were many nights when he just couldn’t fall asleep or get the voices to shut up, far more than nights when sleep came easily. Those nights, he would usually get up and take a visit to Outertale. Somehow the sight of the stars always calmed him enough to settle down and it even silenced the voices usually.

Yet now he had no access to the other universes and going outside, even for a few minutes, would most likely be too dangerous, even if he did put on clothes that hid away his skeletal features. His thoughts were rattling around his skull and he had no way to relieve himself of his thoughts… especially considering the focal point of them was asleep in another room.

Rolling on the couch, he stared at the wall that separated him and the human he was currently staying with. It was around 2 am and he was sure the human was asleep at the moment… unlike him. He frowned in annoyance and let out a soft huff as he crossed his arms. This was all that damn human’s fault! He knew exactly what the human was trying to do by bringing him for a visit outside. They wanted him to stay longer… and it had almost worked.

“Soft idiot,” he growled to himself. If the damn squid ever discovered he was even considering hanging around a stupid human, he’d never hear the end of the taunts and jokes that would surely come his way. “As soon as you’re out of this stupid place, you’re destroying it. You’re destroying the human, too. No more exceptions.”

His words felt empty in the dark room and he frowned, rolling onto his back and staring up at the ceiling once again. He really needed to get out of here… even if he couldn’t get away from the universe itself, he needed to get out of this apartment and sever his connection to the human.

As much as he would have liked to just get up and leave right then and there, he was exhausted and the prospect of being forced to sleep outside on the ground was enough to keep him where he was and even tighten his grip on the blanket draped over his body.

He could prepare to leave in the morning, he decided. Even if the human tried to stop him, they wouldn’t be able to. As long as he hardened his heart - not that it existed in the first place, now that he thought about it - he could do it. A human wasn’t going to hold him back.

Yet even with that decision made, it took him hours longer to fall asleep.

~~~

It seemed that the moment he’d finally managed to drift off into sleep, a loud and intrusive pounding noise was waking him back up. He snarled and sat up, ready to yell at the human to shut the hell up and let him go back to sleep, and it took his sleep-deprived a long few seconds to realize that it wasn’t the human at all. Not his human, anyway.

“The fuck…?” he muttered, rubbing his face in an attempt to wake himself up more. That noise… It sounded like… knocking? That’s what it was. Now more alert, he stood up and shuffled carefully to the door, forced to go on tiptoe as he looked through the tiny peephole.

What he saw made a cold chill run across his body and he stepped back immediately. The human police… why the hell were they at the door? Had he been seen when he and the human had gone outside? That was the only explanation he had for why they would be standing outside.

“What’s going on…?” he heard the human - his human - say in a sleepy tone of voice as they shuffled from their room. “Who’s at the door…?”

The skeleton turned to face them and the look on his face must had said everything, because he watched them stiffen worriedly. “It’s the police,” he hissed softly. “We were idiots, we never should have gone outside!”

They both stood there dumbly for a few moments, wondering what they could possibly do when they heard a sharp voice demanding the door be opened before it was busted down. By instinct, it seemed, the human moved towards the door while making a shooing motion at him to get away.

He didn’t need to be told twice and he grabbed his jacket and shoes, his decision coming to head as he went into the kitchen. There was a window leading outside and, after shoving food into his pockets for later, he unlocked the door and let it swing open. He could hear a conversation in the living room as he climbed onto the counter and looked out the windowsill.

“Shit,” he muttered. The fall wasn’t too steep, but he still didn’t want to blindly throw himself out the window. Error hesitated, but when he saw a faint beam of light from another officer most likely circling the building, he hurled himself out the window and hit the ground hard, haphazardly rolling before he got to his feet and began to run.

~~~

Your heart was pounding erratically as you spoke to the officer at your door. Whether Error was hiding or whether he’d run away, you couldn’t be sure, and the unknown possibility of him being discovered was almost enough to paralyze you.

“... anonymous caller claimed they watched you drag the… suspect… towards your home three weeks ago,” the police officer was saying as you forced yourself to focus on the man once again. “They also said you and the suspect were outside earlier this evening. We have a search warrant for your apartment, may I come in?”

Woodenly, you nodded and stepped back, opening your door a bit more so the officer could step inside. You thought, briefly, of the neighbor who’d seen you dragging Error home. That must have been the one who called. If only you’d been more careful…

“The one I was with earlier was… a friend of mine,” you said to the man, watching as he began to carefully examine your house. “We went for a walk and ordered pizza, he left awhile ago, though.” Considering Error had left his greasy plate on the table, it wasn’t an unbelievable lie. “As for three weeks ago, I found an old prop in the dumpster and I thought it looked really cool. It was only after I dragged it inside that I saw the police reports, it was a really unfortunate coincidence.”

“May I see this prop?” the officer asked, turning to face you, and your heart flew into your throat. Oh… Oh, no…

Trying not to let yourself panic too much, you gave him an apologetic, shaky smile. “I got rid of it again, actually,” you replied. “I was a bit scared that someone would’ve seen me with it and… well, you know, thought it was that weird thing they reported on the news.”

Your lie wasn’t going to work, was it? There was no way he’d accept that. You were going to go to jail, weren’t you? When he turned away to continue his search, you nearly sobbed in relief. Had he bought it?

“I must say, your story is very convenient,” he said with a disapproving note in his voice. “Do you have an alibi?”

Alibi… no, you didn’t have one, did you? Then it struck you. “My neighbor in 5C,” you said. “Mrs. Mendoza, she’s the one who saw the prop first and she told me about it. You could talk to her.”

You could only hope the elderly woman would have your back and you decided you’d bake her cookies later for dragging her into this mess, but you couldn’t think of anything else you could have possibly done.

The police officer fell quiet and you watched as he went into your room and the bathroom, looking around before walking into the kitchen. You went with him for that search, your eyes catching the open window immediately. Error had run. Something within you was sad, but relieved that he’d managed to get away.

“Well, alright,” the officer said, causing you to jump and look back to him. “You’re in the clear for now, but we’ll be doing a follow up in the next few days. Have a nice night now.”

“Yes… Yes, you, too… good luck with your investigation,” you replied, feeling faint as he walked towards the door. When the door was shut behind him, you sank to the floor with a deep sigh, putting your head in your hands.

That had been far more stressful than you’d wanted and you became aware after a few moments that you were shaking from a mixture of anxiety and cold. With robotic movements, you stood up and went to the open window, shutting it and staring outside.

“Be safe,” you murmured out, wondering where he was now. You were glad that he’d gotten away… but now you were alone once again.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy, I'm back, haha. It's been awhile since I've uploaded a chapter and... to be honest, I came pretty close to just abandoning this story. But I didn't and I managed to get this chapter cranked out in just a single day. :D Did I edit it? No. I'm just going to continue to put these out without any revisions because apparently people like that? I dunno, I'm just happy that people like this...
> 
> Anyway, this chapter is a bit heavier than the others so far. I'm putting a warning up for attempted rape, but be assured that I didn't go too far with it and it isn't all that graphic. I'm still putting up the warning, anyway. Hope you all enjoy!

As best as you could figure, you’d begun to pace around your room somewhere around noon and now, at three o’clock on the dot, you hadn’t once stopped your anxious circling. Any attempt to buckle down and focus on work had failed as your brain refused to work with you, each and every thought swept away by worry and the fear of the unknown.

Was Error safe or had he been captured? It was all you’d been able to think about since the police had dropped by two days ago and, though you were usually a tidy individual who kept up on their work, your constant fretting was starting to show in the somewhat messy rooms and the work that had built up on your computer.

If he was safe, you weren’t sure if he would risk trying to come back. Besides, he’d made it clear he didn’t intend to stay with you forever no matter how much you might have wished it. This had been the perfect opportunity for him to get away and, maybe… even escape this universe all together. If he was successful, you didn’t doubt he’d destroy your universe in an instant.

You turned another corner in your room when you risked hitting a wall and, finally dizzy from the endless turning, you sat down on your bed. Glumly, you rested your head on your hands and stared at the ground blankly as you continued to think about the skeleton. This was probably starting to border on obsession, but you couldn’t help it. You were worried about him.

Digging into your pocket, you drew out your phone and fell back on your bed, holding the phone above your face and opening it to a new feed you’d been following religiously the past few days, scanning it for any information that might have come up about Error or even yourself now that the police had stopped by.

It had nothing. Even the old articles that kept up-to-date about the situation had long since faded into the background to make way for newer, fresher news. It seemed the police hadn’t bothered to bring the little search of your apartment to light, which you were grateful for. The last thing you wanted was to be hounded by reporters.

Opening a new tab, you decided to do a quick search across the broad expanse of the internet, but it didn’t provide you with much information either. The most interesting thing you found was an ongoing thread full of Undertale fans such as yourself and conspirators creating theories about what the hell had been going on in your city. The general consensus was that it was someone with an elaborate costume pulling a prank, though there were a few hopefuls that were trying to hold onto the hope that it had been the real deal.

You didn’t have the heart to join the thread and powered down your phone, setting it down on the bedside table and now staring up at the ceiling.

And stared…

And stared…

… and stared…

…

All you were doing was driving yourself insane with all of these unanswerable questions. Shaking your head to try and clear it, you sat up slowly and rubbed your face. “C’mon… You can’t keep doing this to yourself,” you mumbled, forcing yourself to stand up. “You have work to do, just… he can fend for himself, stop overthinking everything…”

All your words did was make you sound crazy for talking to yourself and you sighed softly. Defeated when it came to turning your mind elsewhere, you let your thoughts roam as you did a quick clean up of your room and moved on to cleaning the living room and the kitchen. It took you a few hours and when you were finished, you were too tired to bother with making dinner.

You contemplated ordering pizza, but that was just going to make you think about him even more than you already were. There was a local Chinese place that you could order from, though unfortunately, they didn’t do delivery… Though, ultimately, a walk would help clear your mind.

“Better than nothing,” you muttered, taking out your phone to place an order. There was a 30 minute wait and you took that time to get a bit of work done, sending an email to your boss to apologize and making a quick excuse that you’d been sick.

Though you didn’t get completely caught up, you got a fair amount of work done before you needed to pick up your order. You put on a pair of shoes and stretched before grabbing your keys and pocket knife, tucking them into your pocket before grabbing the money and heading out the door.

It was a foolish thought, but as you began the walk to the restaurant, you couldn’t help but hope that Error was waiting somewhere along the path. A rather childish fantasy, you thought, but you still smiled as you imagined running into someone, looking up, and seeing him. Of course, he couldn’t come directly back to your apartment, but at least he could let you know he was okay. Childish, maybe, but the thought made you smile.

Ultimately, you were surprised when you really did bump into someone by accident. Blinking in astonishment, your heart soared, and you took a step back and looked up at…

… No, that wasn’t Error. Your soaring heart crashed immediately. It was just a scruffy-looking guy with his hood drawn up enough to obscure his face.

“Oh- I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t mean to bump into you,” you apologized to him, offering a friendly smile as you went to walk around him.

A hand was placed on your shoulder and you looked up with a confused expression. The man hadn’t said a word yet and the fact that he’d touched you only made you a bit nervous. “Let go of me, please,” you said more firmly, reaching for your knife instinctively.

“Nah. I think you’ll do just fine,” the guy said, his voice oddly thick and he sounded almost congested. “Little thing like you’s gotta have some cash on you.”

Your eyes widened fearfully and you tried to wrench yourself backwards from the man, but he was stronger and more quick, gripping your shoulder more tightly and shoving you backwards into a dark alleyway. More hands were on you in an instant and pinned you down, drawing out a nervous gasp from you. You… You were being mugged! It had always been a distant fear in the back of your mind but, carrying a knife, you’d had a foolish thought that you’d be able to defend yourself from any would-be attackers.

Oh, how wrong you were now that you were actually in this situation. “I-I only have enough money for my dinner,” you said quietly, not wanting to be hurt by these people. “It’s in my pocket, please take it and let me leave.”

The first man who’d grabbed you chuckled and knelt in front of you, roughly rooting through your pockets. “Finally, a compliant one,” he said, earning himself a few laughs from the other members of his little group. Shame made your cheeks burn up, but you didn’t bother trying to fight. They could take the cash and you wouldn’t care, all you wanted was to escape with your laugh.

“Are ya sure we shouldn’t do more with this one?” another individual, this one with a more clear and higher voice, questioned. “If they’re compliant, then why not, right?” 

His suggestion had fear shooting through you immediately. “No- No, please,” you begged. “Just take the cash and let me go, I don’t want any trouble.” You should have just made dinner or ordered pizza. That would have been so much better than this terrible possibility.

“C’mon, Ramon, that’s low even for us,” the third one replied to the second one’s suggestion. “We just take the cash, that’s all.”

The one called Ramon seemed to be irritated and growled, his hands tightening on your shoulders. “Oh, shut up! This’d be too easy, we could do it and be gone in minutes!”

“They are pretty compliant,” commented the first one quietly. “Huh…”

Were they really considering this…? Right in front of you, why you were helpless and couldn’t fight back? Helpless tears sprang into your eyes, but you weren’t going to just sit around and take it. You wrenched yourself violently and, clearly not expecting you to suddenly jerk, you managed to break from their grasp.

Stumbling, you were surprised you’d pulled away and it took you a moment too long to try and run. Rough hands grabbed you and slammed you to the pavement, your cheek pressed into sharp rocks. “Damn you,” Ramon’s voice growled and you winced as he pressed you down. “Trying to escape, you stupid motherfucker? Should’ve just been good and taken it.”

“No- NO! Get off me!” you yelled, digging your fingers into the ground and trying to get the man off of you by any means necessary. You felt him grabbing at your pants and you screamed in anger and fear. “ERROR! ERROR, HELP!”

“They’re too loud, we should get outta here,” one of the other men said with a nervous note to their voice, but you hardly paid attention as you thrashed and continued to scream.

Ramon growled and slammed a hand over your mouth to cut off your screams. You squirmed viciously and tried to bite him, do anything to get away, but he was too strong for you to break free from. It was no use to try and fight and true hopelessness settled in. He was going to have his way with you and leave your battered body on the ground for some unfortunate individual to come across…

Distracted as both you and the man were, neither of you noticed when, one by one, the other two thugs were dropped to the ground by some unseen force. It wasn’t until something was pressed to Ramon’s neck and he froze that you realized someone had come.

“Get away from them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who is that mysterious mystery man? ;)


	15. Author's Note

Hey there, fans of Substantialized Errors! I'm sorry for the lack of recent updates and I'm also sorry for this random author's note instead of another chapter. I just wanted to let everyone know that, for the next month or so, the probability of me getting a chapter uploaded is slim to none. I'm currently very busy and have another, original work that takes priority over this one. I do plan on updating and I haven't abandoned this, I just wanted to let you know of what is happening. Expect an updaye in about a month! Thank you for being patient!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! I'm back! I would first like to apologize for how long I was gone: I was out on the road with my mom for a month, which was why I was gone initially, but upon getting home I got sick... and then had a bit of a medical problem that left me bedridden for a few days. I'm doing much better now, though, thankfully. This chapter is also... extremely short. I honestly don't even know where I'm going with this anymore, but people seem to enjoy it, so I'll continue it! (And congrats to the people who correctly guessed reader's savior.)

The rough hands that had grabbed you were taken away and relief flooded through you as you sat up and scrambled away from the man that had tried to rape you. Though you didn’t recognize the voice of the one that had come to your rescue, banishing the mild hope you’d had that Error had come, you were still extremely grateful someone had heard your pleas.

“What the hell are you!?” exclaimed Ramon in a strangely startled tone and you looked up to see a figure bleached white standing there with a large brush pressed against the man’s neck. It was another skeleton, you noted distantly. Another one that was very familiar to you, dressed in beige clothing with a long scarf around his neck. Though perhaps you ought to have been surprised, you weren’t in the slightest. If Error existed, it would have been rather idiotic to assume he was the only one.

As you watched silently, your heart still pounding, the skeleton smiled at the man. “Just a friendly universal skeleton!” he said before twisting the brush so quickly that you could hardly follow it, the handle slamming against the man’s temple and downing him just like the other two. A single blow and that was all it took. “Hm, but I thought Error would be here…” The skeleton hardly seemed to notice your presence and looked around with a thoughtful expression.

Somehow finding your voice again, you quietly said, “No… He’s not here…” It was difficult to stand: your legs shook like jello and you wobbled uncertainly. It occurred to you that your screams for Error might have sounded differently to the skeleton before you. Had he assumed you were being attacked by the destroyer? You wondered if that was the only reason he saved you.

His attention was brought back to you when you spoke and he tilted his head. You watched as he took one of the vials from his sash and sipped it before stepping closer. It made you flinch when he did. “He’s not? Then why were you screaming his name?” he asked with a greater curiosity than before.

“I was hoping he’d hear me and come to rescue me…” Now that you said it, you felt extremely foolish. Why would he ever come to rescue you? He was long gone and from everything you knew about him, he despised your existence. The only reason he’d acted friendly to you was because you provided him with a place to hide… that was all. No matter how much you hoped otherwise.

The skeleton fixed you with a curious expression, one of his multicolored lights a swirling pattern while the other was a question mark. “You were hoping that… Error would come save you? Don’t you know what he’s like?”

You thought back to the few weeks you’d spent with him. “... I know he has an attitude,” you replied. “And he can be rude, but he’s not all that bad. I know because he spent the past few weeks hiding in my house.” When the curious look didn’t leave the other’s face, you explained the events of the past few weeks, all while looking around fretfully, afraid someone might see your current companion or that the three unconscious thugs might wake. 

He interrupted your tale frequently with many questions, which you answered to the best of your ability, watching as he scribbled notes on his scarf. “Okay,” he murmured when you’d finished the tale. “Thank you for telling me! You can go home now and forget you ever saw either of us!” He gave you a smile as if he’d just told you something pleasant.

“What?” you replied. “Why would I do that? I want to make sure he’s okay, I’m not going to just forget about him.”

The skeleton put his little brush away that he’d used to take the notes and fiddled with his belt. “This universe shouldn’t be tampered with at all,” he said after a moment. “Error never should’ve gotten in here; even monsters like Nightmare know to leave it alone. I guess Error thought he could try and stop the creation of new universes… I don’t even know how he managed to get in here.”

You frowned and had to ask, “How did you get in here, then?”

“I’m the guardian of creation, so I can come in and out of here whenever I want,” he explained with a shrug. “But the universe is really good at protecting itself. If someone comes at it with ill intent, they can’t even touch it. I thought Error was just on one of his breaks until I heard you calling his name. That’s when I figured out what happened.” He then paused and frowned. “I really shouldn’t be talking about any of this… Just forget I said anything!”

“Wait, hey, don’t go yet,” you protested, but he’d already gone, paint splattering the ground from where he’d made a portal. You frowned at it, your thoughts whirling chaotically. There were so many questions you had and now you had no one to ask them. With a sigh, you made your way home, the Chinese food you’d ordered forgotten. You barely cast a look at the three men lying unconscious on the ground. It was something you never wanted to think about again.

The walk home was quiet and cold. Your body was still thrumming with tension and you watched every dark corner intently even as your thoughts bounced between Error and Ink. You refused to just forget about them and act like nothing had happened. Even if you wanted to, you doubted you’d ever be able to forget.

“Hope you’re doing better than me right now,” you said quietly as you returned to your apartment and slipped inside, locking the door behind you and sinking onto the couch. With thoughts of Error still whirling through your mind, you fell asleep and dreamt of things that weren’t meant to be.


	17. Discontinuation

Hey, everybody. I'm so, so grateful for all of the kudos and comments I've gotten on this story. It's amazing and I never thought anyone would come to like it so much. Unfortunately, however, for many reasons... I am discontinuing this story. I'm sorry for that. First and foremost, I'm embarrassed I ever actually uploaded this. I am capable of so much better writing than this story shows, and I'm not trying to sound conceited... anyone who reads the short story I posted a few days ago can see what I really can accomplish with writing. This... just kinda went down the drain and I've hated writing it for a few chapters now. I only continued because I didn't want to disappoint anyone. Yet as of now, I really just can't bring myself to write another of these terrible chapters. To anyone who genuinely liked this story, I'm sorry for the disappointment of it. If I really had the drive, I would force myself to finish it out, but I just can't and I don't think it's healthy for anyone to force themselves to do anything just for the sake of others. That being said, I will write more short Undertale or possibly Deltarune stories in the future. I think short stories will be easier for me to manage than a longer fic and I do like writing about Undertale and all it's characters. So, if any of you want to, keep an eye out for that! I only have one posted right now that I did for Halloween called Silent Omission and I definitely wish you guys give that a shot! It's so much better written than this is and I hope, maybe, it could make up for the abrupt end to this one? Anyway, I'll leave this here. I'm sorry again for the disappointment and I hope you all understand. Hope you all have a great day and maybe I'll see you in the comments of future stories.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Painting Reality](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18907279) by [9puppys](https://archiveofourown.org/users/9puppys/pseuds/9puppys)




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